Story Teller's Secrets
by GirlWithTheInkStainedSoul
Summary: Toph and Zuko bonding. What happens after Boiling Rock? Of course Toph would get annoyed with all the flirting between Suki and Sokka, and of course she's jealous. So who does she bother instead? Zuko! : Hope you like, kinda bored with my othr stories..
1. Piggyback Pest

A/N: This is what happens when i get bored with a current story. I promise I'll get back up on the other 3 (ugh...) soon, but i'm in the middle of exams so it may not be SO soon...I hope you like this, i wanted to some Zuko/Toph bonding. (official name for them yet? Zoph? Tuko? giggles) Feedback would be much love!!

--

"…and then she was gone! She had leaped up and started jumping on the heads of the prisoners, _while_ they were rioting! She was amazing!"

"What are you talking about Sokka? You came up with the plan, we wouldn't have escaped if it were for your ingenious quick thinking."

_That's it, I've heard enough_, Toph thought. For the last two nights, the gaang and their two newest members had been sharing stories about their adventures while separated from the group of teens, Katara and Sokka's father telling of his separation from the rest of the invasion members, and Suki accounting her time away from the other Kyoshi warriors, how she had arrived at the Boiling Rock and awaiting of "her knight in shining blue armor to save her." Toph almost gagged. Now the newly found couple was depicting the events their escape of Boiling Rock. Toph was sick of the flirting between Sokka and Suki. It was great that her friend was finally smiling; he had his dad with him after all, not to mention his girlfriend, but the constant talk about how great the other was had gotten old fast.

"No more storied for me," Toph mumbled. "Hey Sparky, get your butt over here and carry me to my room." She heard Zuko sigh, which only resulted in a smile from the young earthbender.

"Toph, your feet are healed, I—"

"_**I**_ don't want to hear it. You burn my feet, I'm not done with my payback," she said strickly and playfully, in a way that only Toph could.

Zuko knealed to where Toph was sitting as she crawled onto his back. She kicked her heeled into his sides, almost causing him to double over.

"Ugh, I'm going, I'm going!!"

"Night Toph," Suki's "sweet" light voice said. Toph had heard enough stories to know that wasn't her total nature.

"Ya, whatever," she mumbled in reply as Zuko walked away.

--

"Off," Zuko said when he reached the earthbender's quarters.

"Hmph, be nice Sparky, or I'll have you dangling off the side of the abyss by your feet."

Zuko said nothing, it was sometimes hard to tell when the young girl was only kidding, and when she made threats she promised to keep them. Besides, he had learned that around the girl, it was better to keep his mouth shut, she could as quickly think of a come back as he could chase after the Avatar.

The firebender stood up, ready to leave, but Toph, now stretching out on the floor, bended the earth beneath his feet, causing him to slide closer to her and away from the door.

"Don't even think about it Sparks-a-lot, I cant sleep without a story."

Zuko slightly rolled his eyes, knowing the girl couldn't see. "You're kidding me right? Sokka and Suki are out there--" he pointed to the main room, "—telling stories about our adventure at Boiling Rock. Why'd you leave if—"

"I'm tired of hearing stores from them, _about_ them. I want to hear something from you. Sit," she commanded.

The ex-prince sighed, knowing he wouldn't get out this easily, if at all. "Fine," he said, taking a seat beside the earthbender's sheets. "What do you want to know?" he asked, knowing her answer even before she spoke.

"Whose Mai?"


	2. Pins and Needles

**Chapter 2: Pins & Needles**

"Uh…What?"

"Oh don't give me that Sparky. I've heard enough of Snoozles' stories to know that the two of you were separated for some time, and she did after all save your butt back there…" Toph raised her eyebrows at Zuko, noticing his heart quicken…she hit a nerve. "Well? And don't even try lying to the greatest earthbender, you're not your sister."

_Thank god for that,_ Zuko thought. "Shewasmygirlfriend…" he mumbled under his breath, hoping the blind bender hadn't heard. But of course she had, this was Toph after all.

"You're **girlfriend?** You mean you dated _Needles_?!" Toph attempted to suppress a laugh, which she ended up releasing as a chortle."

"_**Was.**_ Was my girlfriend. And hold on, _Needles?!" _

She bent the marble beneath her, softening the mineral as she stretch out her legs and wiggled her toes, which were becoming colder as she sat on the cold floor. Zuko looked around the Toph's room; of course she didn't need much but the contents of her bag (known only to Toph), her extra clothing sprawled on the floor (if Katara found it like that there would be hell to pay), and what seemed to be a mountain of marble rocks (which Zuko supposed Toph kept in case of an attack.) The fire bender stood up and found what he was looking for, a blanket, and threw it at Toph, who had been monitoring his movements and grabbed it in midair from her seated position. Zuko smiled, expecting this, and sat back down.

Toph wrapped the blanket around her and brought her knees to her stomach without as much as a thank you. "Well, what happened? And yes, Needles, everyone gets a nickname, regardless of being fire nation or not…Sparky." Toph smiled, and then waited, of course impatiently, for Zuko's response, who was debating whether or not to explain to a 12-year-old his past relationship with his sister's friend.

"She…I…"

_YAWN_ "Don't put me to sleep before you even started Sparks!"

Zuko decided to start at the beginning. _The longer I go on the sooner she'll fall asleep, and the fewer questions asked._

"Ned-Ugh. Mai was friends with Azula and Ty L—"

"Pins."

"What?"

"The jumpy perky one. Pins. She can knock people out like that—" Toph started jabbing in midair." "—And they fall straight to the ground. Like marble pins."

"Right…" Zuko was surprised at the blind bender's ability to give nicknames so accurately when she couldn't even see those of which she nicknamed.

"Well, Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee hung around the palace when we were young…Azula usually thinking of ways to torture me and then getting Pi-Ty Lee and Mai on it."

Toph smiled; she seemed to be having an effect on Zuko, he was after all beginning to use the nicknamed she assigned his former allies.

"I hadn't noticed it, but Mai seemed to haveacrushonme," Zuko mumbled again, but unfortunately Toph understood.

"Modest, aren't we?"

Zuko ignored the comment and continued, telling Toph of the time that Zuko attempted to push a burning apple off of Mai head but the two ended up one on top of the other in a fountain. "…Just as Azula had planned…"

"Ok, enough of the kiddy stuff, get to the part where you're actually a couple."

Zuko sighed; she _was_ impatient. "After Aang fall she kissed me while on the way back home, and we kinda became…"

"You're such a girl, say it, a couple. Well? I want a break up story, not all the mushy togetherness. Let's hear it!"

"I had to leave her, when I decided to come and find Aang. So on the Day of Black Sun, I broke up with her…through a note…" Zuko's last words were almost in a whisper, and he looked up at Toph expecting her to criticize him as Mai had done. Instead, she just stared, not at his eyes, but towards his general direction. The small bender said nothing; he had caught her attention.

Zuko starred at his hands. "I didn't know what else to do, so I wrote the letter and left…I told her I was sorry, but she wouldn't have gone with me even if I had asked."

"She didn't love you?"

The scarred firebender looked up. "What makes you think that?"

"Wouldn't she have gone with you otherwise? You didn't even ask her if she wouldn't go, you only assumed it."

Zuko didn't expect this from a 12-year-old, but as that Toph was stronger than she looked it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that she was wiser as well.

There was a minute of silence, Zuko looking up at Toph and Toph starring at the wall behind him. "…I…" He didn't know how to respond, but only continued on with his story.

_Drop the subject. You just answered any questions I would have asked. You were too afraid to ask her to come with you Zuko, part of you didn't trust her, afraid that she would rat you out. You don't love her, even though she loved you enough to save your life while risking her own._

"Her uncle is in charge of the Boiling Rock prison. As soon as he realized who I was, Mai's uncle sent note to her, and she came. Mai told me how hurt she was…the note…and I just sat there…"

"Do you regret it?"

"Regret what? Breaking up through a note? Ya, a part of me does. But the other part of me told me then and there that if I had broken her heart face to face, I would have destroyed the only person other than my mom that loved me, and I couldn't do that to her."

"You mean 'to you,'" Toph retorted.

"What?"

"Selfish. You couldn't do that to yourself. You faced your father, you've along side and against that witch of a sister you have," to this Zuko smiled, "and you've gone through numerous risks against Aang, the Avatar. But you couldn't deal with one little break up?"

Again Zuko starred at Toph, and again he was surprised at the words coming out of this pre-teens mouth. But he realized she was right. And he told her so.

"I'm always right Zuko. Rest of the story please."

He smiled again, and then Zuko continued, still in disbelief that he was telling this all to someone that was once his enemy.

"When we were running out of Boiling Rock, the lift suddenly stopped, Mai's uncle had ordered them to cut the line. We would have died in the lava beneath us, but Mai battled the prison guards, and she let us go. Before we reached the other side, our eyes meet. And I knew…she really did love me, I guess that's when I really regretted what I had done; letting her go, breaking up through a note…leaving her to Azula's torture. Anyone who betrays Azula is immediately dead or slowly tortured, that's a fact. End of story! Happy?"

Toph only shrugged, and began to play with the piece of space earth given to her by Sokka. Zuko noticed the value it was to the earthbender; she seemed to never take it off, having it with her where ever she went.

"My turn to ask the questions," he said, looking into Toph's cold stare, which was directed towards his general direction. "What's the deal with you and Sokka?"

_--_

_A/N: My tone in this chapter and the first one totally changed. Sorry, but I totally did i better job on the last chapter. I kinda did this just to give you guys something to read and look forward to. (Tokka coming up!!) And im not a 100 Maiko fan, so of course i would do bad on the chapter practically dedicated to the history of the couple. And Toph kinda creeps me out here, acting all...wise and such. I think i was the one talking more than she was. Lol, just tell me watcha think, advice and suggestions would be nice!!_


	3. Space Love & New Crests

**Chapter 3: Space Love & New Crests**

Toph turned her head away, trying to conceal a blush that was beginning to rise upon her cheeks.

"What crush, Firebolt?" Toph asked, mentally punching herself for absentmindedly playing with the space earth that Sokka had given her. The blind earthbender may be an expert at reading lies, but when it came to concealing her own…

Zuko, after living with his sister--the authority of all liars--for so many years, had also learned to tell the difference between lies and truth, and called Toph on hers.

"Toph, blushing at his compliments of you, scowling at Suki's presence, and laughing at Sokka's jokes—of which we know aren't funny, so that kinda makes you seem a little desperate…"

"I am _**not**_ desperate!"

"…are all signs that you're crushing on Sokka. _Hard._"

Toph continued to play with her bracelet, forming the shape of a star, and then moving her hands in a circular motion, creating a sphere with the foreign mineral. The bottom of the sphere became a faint point, and the tops split into two identical curved juts. The earthbender stopped herself from forming a perceptible heart. Last thing she needed was to give the firebender another motive for her love towards Sokka. But Zuko seemed to catch on anyway.

"And that space rock you wear as a bracelet. It seems more valuable to you than Katara's necklace is to her…"

Zuko's last words seemed to escape him as a whisper; tears were falling from Toph's shallow eyes. The banished prince wasn't sure whether to comfort her or to leave. He stood up, eying the door, and the earthbender sniffed, a frown on her face. Zuko, changing his mind, sat beside Toph, noting the softness of the marble beneath them, and put his arm around her.

Toph was surprised by Zuko's actions, but she needed someone to finally vent to. The girl rested her head on the ex-prince's chest, her being at least two inches shorter than he was. Once her tears stopped falling, Toph wiped away the remainder of them from her face, and spoke.

"Fine, I have a crush on Sokka. So what?" Zuko noted the slight anger in her voice, whether she was angry with him for pointing it out or angry with herself for her crush on Sokka he couldn't say.

When Zuko didn't respond, Toph brought her head up and sighed.

"There was something about Snoozles since I met him, I dunno what…but I think I lo--" Toph couldn't bring herself to say it.

Zuko glanced at Toph, knowing she couldn't see it, but the vibrations he let off silently willed her to continue.

"When we were passing the Serpent's Pass, Katara made an ice path for us to cross on. I couldn't feel the vibrations, and I feel into the water." Toph shivered, as if she felt the icy water surrounding her now, and pulled the blanket in closer to her body. "I can't swim, and I screamed for help. Everyone else was already on the other end…and Sokka yelled that he was coming to save me. That was the last thing I remembered before going under…his voice…"

Toph frowned, remembering what happened next. Part of her didn't want to tell Zuko, didn't want to hear his response to her story. But another part of her trusted him, and she needed someone who would listen. So the earthbender continued.

"Someone pulled me up. I thought it was Sokka, and so I…I kissed him on the cheek. But it wasn't Sokka…it was Suki…"

Zuko couldn't suppress a smile, and was for once happy that the younger girl was blind. Although he had another reason to be happy for that…

"I felt like I wanted to be back under the water. And now I'm…" Toph would never admit to being afraid of anything…even if there was a possibility of Suki telling Sokka what happened out on the water…

Toph sighed again, "We got closer before the invasion, when Suki was gone, but Sokka was always worried about her, even when he wouldn't admit to it. There's no chance of him seeing me of more than a friend or as the small, blind earthbender that I am. 'Cause that's all I am to him…"

Zuko wasn't sure what made him say what he did next, but he knew the feeling of being ignored and going unnoticed. His arm was now wrapped around the back of her neck, and he squeezed her shoulder slightly. "You might be small and blind Toph, but you're…you're beautiful too. And if Sokka can't see that, then he isn't the guy for you…Don't worry about it so much, if something's meant to happen, then it will."

Toph, surprised at being called beautiful, especially by Zuko of all people, looked up and realized that it had been Zuko who was making her smile so many times that night. No one had ever called her that before, other than Katara, and the blind bender made note of it.

"Thanks Sparky," she said, but to make sure her reputation as the world's greatest earthbender didn't melt away in one night, she punched Zuko in the gut, causing yet another smile to form on Toph's face as Zuko released a sigh from the impact.

Toph was still holding the space earth in her hand, and she now crushed it slowly, causing it to take the shape of her palm as she held it. She clutched the dark mineral in front of her and formed it into a bracelet once more, not allowing Zuko to see that the swirled ends of each side of the bracelet held a symbol; one side the Earth Kingdom crest and the other, once the Water Tribe crest, was now that of the Fire Kingdom. She replaced the newly formed bracelet onto her arm, a smile still resting on her face.

"So Sparks…might I ask you another question?"

"What's the point in asking permission? You'll pull the answer out of me anyway." It was Zuko's turn to smile now; he was wrapped in Toph's game and there was no leaving it until she felt as thought she won.

"You never said that you loved Mai, even though you said that she loves you." Toph stated this as fact, now sure of the vibrations she had felt before. "And now that you've been us for a few weeks, you've gained the trust of everyone in the group. You feel comfortable, don't you?" The earthbender didn't give Zuko the chance to respond. "So why is it that on you're first night with us, you're heartbeat was running wild?"

"I was nerv-"

"No you weren't. Not when all of us were with you…even when we were about to attack you, you didn't flinch. It was only when you were left alone with Katara. Then you're heart was really pounding. So what happened?"

Zuko glared at the earthbender, hoping that this was the last thing he'd have to admit to that night. But of course, it wouldn't be.

_She's a lady, and ladies, shouldn't be messed with. She's a lady, and ladies, shouldn't be messed with._ --She's a Lady- FTSK

--

A/N: Sorry bout the almost random song lyric, today's my bday and its like my yearly bday song...yah, dont ask ;) So anyway, i know that the tones and behaviors for Zuko and Toph were kinda weird here, but I plan on editing it so if you have any suggestions, please share. We've had a tiny bit of Sokki, chapters full of Maiko and Tokka issues, now time for Zutara! Maybe some Taang next? :D Yah never know! Let me know what you think please!!


	4. StJun

**Chapter 4: St.Jun**

There was no lying to her. The scarred prince knew this as fact more than anything else.

That didn't mean he wouldn't try.

"She…intimidated me…That's all." Zuko said slowly, hoping his choice of words would get past Toph as truth.

But of course it didn't.

Toph lobbed one of the fist-sized marble boulders she had in the corner of her room at Zuko's stomach, pushing him against the wall he and Toph had their backs too.

"Ooff!"

"Yah, trying lying to the world's most powerful earth slash metal bender again. Next time I'll aim lower."

Zuko didn't respond to this threat (as Sokka would by running as far from the earthbender as possible, although there truly was no escaping her) and pushing the boulder back to its pill. The firebender stood up, brushed himself off, and walked back over to where Toph sat.

"Wasn't a complete lie," he mumbled, sitting back down.

"Fine. After Sokka showed me to my room, his sister walked in. She threatened my life, telling me that if I ever stepped out of line she'd be there to make sure I wouldn't get the chance to find my way back. She was pretty much just being overprotective of Aang."

Toph laughed, not at the fact that Katara threatened Zuko (because the waterbender could be deadly if need be) but because of the later of Zuko's words.

"Yah, overprotective defiantly sums up Sugar Queen. And I can tell you weren't lying, I could feel both of your vibrations when Katara went to talk to you, heard everything. 'So let me tell you something right now. You take one step backward, one slip up, one reason why I might think you'd hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny any longer.' Shesh, you'd think it was her special time or something."

Zuko couldn't help but smile, but it was erased from his face as soon as he saw Toph's mysterious grin.

"But I wasn't talking about only then Sparky. Seems to me that every time you two are in the same room, the both of you are on the verge of a heart attack. Do you want know what I think that means?"

Zuko didn't answer, but instead looked upon the young earthbender with a look of surprise and anxiety.

_Great…she knows…_

"Well, I'm telling you anyway," Toph said with a shrug, causing the blanket Zuko had wrapped around her shoulders earlier to slide off. Zuko picked it up and wrapped it around her again.

Zuko realized what he was doing right after the wool left his fingers. He wouldn't have been doing that for just anyone…did he…did he care for the earthbender? It seemed that way… Zuko shook his head. He just didn't want her to start complaining, she'd probably make him cover her again anyway. But he would have never done such a thing, no matter how small, for Azula. Never.

"I think you like Sugar Queen. In the same way Needles likes you." All Toph needed to know whether she hit a mark were Zuko's vibrations, and they verified it all. "So why don't you tell me all about it Princess?" Zuko wiggled uncomfortably at the new nickname; there seemed to be an endless supply from the girl. "And don't try lying to me again, I have a ton more boulders where the first came from." Toph nodded towards the pile. "So spill."

Zuko sighed, wondering when the night of spilling secrets would end. He knew it wouldn't be anytime soon.

"I don't—" A boulder lifted itself from the pile. "Fine! What do you want to know?"

As soon as he said the words he regretted them. Allowing Toph to decided what information she "needed" wouldn't allow Zuko to leave anything out, because the earthbender would want to know _everything._

"Start from the beginning Sparks. And leave nothing out."

_Ughhhh_

"Long before you became the Avatar's earthbending teacher, I found Katara's necklace on a prisoner ship. I knew that where ever she was, the Avatar was, and so I could use her necklace to find him."

Zuko paused, wondering if he should mention Jun and her xirxiu. He decided against it.

"When I found them—"

"Wait! How would you find them with only Katara's necklace? You're leaving something out Princess!"

Another boulder came flying towards Zuko, but he was quick enough to duck, and a second later the marble sphere was lodged into the wall where his head one lied.

_Shesh, for a 12 year old she sure is observant._

"Fine! My uncle found a bounty hunter, Jun, and her xirxiu followed Katara's scent. Happy? Now—"

"Hold it. What was the point of leaving that bit of information out? Why is Jun so important to your crush with Sweetness?"

Zuko pinched his nose between two fingers, trying to wipe away the headache Toph was bound to cause.

"She…Jun thought I was looking for my girlfriend, alright?"

"Sweet. That's all you had to say Sparks. Kay, so go on."

"Well, I guess that's where things started. I didn't have feelings or anything like that for Swe—Katara then, but I guess that kinda caused it…Anyway, every time I battled Katara I noticed how she changed, how much more powerful her bending became each time we fought. While at the Northern Water Tribe, we fought alone. I called her…a peasant, which seemed to enrage her enough to almost beat me in that fight. But I won, and made off with Aang. She and Sokka found us in the middle of a blizzard, and she won that fight. I guess it was how much she changed that caught my attention, how powerful she was becoming with her bending…" _And her beauty_, he thought.

"Yah yah, okay. So what happened under Ba Sing Se?"

Toph definitely caught Zuko by surprise.

"Waah? How did you know we were under Ba Sing Se together?"

"Well, I was talking about the battle you had, but if there was something else…"

Zuko felt like banging his head against the marble walls, but decided against doing such.

"We talked about how the war took both of our mothers, and then she…"

Zuko thought back to the conversation he and Katara had in the catacombs. Her cold tough against his rough scar, the way her eyes sparkled in the light caused by his own flame, the desire he had too…

"Hello?! Earth to Zuko!" Toph laughed at her own joke, throwing another marble boulder his way, and then stopping it before it could hit him. The earthbender returned it to its pile. "You were saying?"

"Katara offered to heal my scar. I'm glad she didn't get the chance; my uncle and Aang found us right before she got the chance. But if she had used that Spirit Oasis water on my scar…"

For once Toph was silent. She realized that Zuko felt guilt, and probably selfish. Without that "healing properties water" or whatever, Aang might not be alive…

But Toph didn't show any sign of remorse for Zuko. Last thing she needed was _another_ weakness.

"So now you're here. You see her everyday, and you've done nothing about how you've felt. What is with you guys? Twinkletoes has trouble showing his feelings on his own, and we all know that Suki is the dude in her relationship with Snoozles. You haven't even said more than 5 words to Katara since you've joined us! What are y—"

Zuko's finger was suddenly on Toph's lips, silencing her.

"Have you not noticed the way she treats me? She thinks I betrayed her after what happened under Ba Sing Se, and she's never going to forgive me for that. She was the first person to trust me, and she was the first person I let down. She's never going to give me another chance, and if she knew how I felt about her, she'd probably keep to her promise about becoming the cause of my death!"

Toph laughed, causing Zuko to look at her with angry eyes.

"You think this is funny!? She hates me and—"

"Stop making a fool of yourself Zuko." Toph wiped a tear away from her eye; it had been a long while since she last laughed that hard. "I told you that both of your hearts were beating to death when you're in the same room together. Hers does it for the same reason yours does. Not because she hates you Zuko. Because she _likes you_."

Zuko didn't know what to say. All he knew was that he needed to change the subject, and fast.

_Damn you, Jun,_ he thought.

"He Toph, I know you have a crush on Sokka—" Toph glared at Zuko; not only was he ruining her fun, but that was the last topic she wanted to get back on.

"And I won't tell anyone, but have you every considered Aang instead?"

_A/N_

_I'm sorry this took so long, I've been a busy girl with FanFics, Music Vids, and the end of ATLA! OMJ (jonas), I can't believe its over!! I'm going to journal a full commentary of the finale later, so get ready for a long read Also, i heard that there's supposed to be another season or something, has anyone else heard about that? I want more detail if anyone has any!!_

_Ok, so i had tons of fun with this. I love how Zuko changes the subject. This is also for all of you Zutarians out there, and all of you that believe in St.Jun. Hehehe. Tell me watcha think please!!_


	5. Taany Goodness

**Chapter 5: Taangy Goodness**

"_Me and Twinkletoes?!_ Ah haha!! You've been eating Sugar Queen's kumquats just to please her again, haven't you, Sparky?"

"What's so wrong with Aang? And why do you call Katara 'Sugar Queen?'"

"Katara's all sugar and no spice. Unless you really piss her off, in which case it would suck to be on the receiving end of her blow. And Airhead's alright, but again, it would suck to have to deal with Sweetness. Nothing the Blind Bandit can't take though."

Zuko was only half listening, happy to get off the subject of him and Katara. Until of course Toph mentioned her again, causing Zuko to suddenly perk up.

"Wait, what?! Why would you have to deal with Swe—Katara if you went after Aang?"

_Great, I'm starting to pick up her nicknames now. Spending too much time with this kid can not be healthy._

"Wow, you don't know? I thought your reason for not going after Katara was because you couldn't handle the Avatar's rage. Twinkletoes is head over heels for her.

Zuko grasped this new piece of information, but again Toph was causing him to steer into a topic he'd rather avoid; Katara. So again, he changed the subject.

"So if she wasn't in the way, you don't think you'd go after Aang?"

"Me and Twinkletoes? Never thought about it really."

_Probably because of her crush on Sokka…_

"But if Aang did try to hit on me, I guess I wouldn't object to it…I mean, he is the Avatar and all, and we've had some good times…Pissing off Snoozles and Sweetness that is."

Zuko was surprised to hear this. Toph and Aang? He was only trying to divert the attention away from Katara. Interesting…

"The two of you are the same age, and you seem to have fun when ever you're together. So what's stopping you?" Zuko knew the answer before the questions escaped his lips.

"Sweetness. Why don't you go after her, Princess?" This caused another flinch from Zuko, not only because of the nickname, but the mention of him and Katara getting together. How did they always get back to this? "You get Sweetness, then maybe I'll go after Twinkletoes. Huh?"

Zuko said nothing, thinking over the idea of him and Katara. "You think you could calm Aang down long enough to prevent him from killing me?"

Toph laughed, causing Zuko to smile. The young earthbender seemed to be the only one to make him do that anymore.

"Sure thing Sparky. It's a deal."

Zuko's arm, once again wrapped around the back of Toph's neck, squeezed the shoulder farthest from him.

"It's a deal then."

The couple smiled, thinking about the future they might have; a firebender and waterbending master, and an earthbending teacher with her student of all elements.

Toph was the one to break the silence, losing the attempt to stifle a yawn.

"Maybe I should let you get some sleep…"

"Don't even think about leaving me Sparky. This is the most fun I've had since I was the Blind Bandit."

"Uh…What?"

"Yah, I had a wanted poster and everything. Snoozles, Twinkletoes, and I went around cheating cheaters. There's not a gamble that the Blind Bandit hasn't lost yet!"

"Ugh, I heard about that in one of our reports. Someone was bankrupting the city of Kantow. That was you then?" Zuko almost smiled, the preteen bender seemed to have the most fun in the group…Zuko liked that she took chances the others wouldn't.

"Yep. Sweetness wanted us to stop though, she was afraid we'd be caught. Then she realized how much fun she was sucking outa the rest of us, so she came up with a plan. I was wanted, and there was a cash reward for my capture. So…Katara 'captured' me and turned me in, and since I can metal bend I could have escaped. Except your bounty hunter…Sparky-sparky-boo-man, I think Sokka called him? Well anyway, he caught Katara too, and they put us in a _wooden_ cage. Not cool. But, like, Katara figured a way to get some water out of our sweat, and she broke us out. That's probably the most fun I've had with Sweetness since our day at the spa…"

Zuko was surprised, not only at the mention of Toph at a spa, (when was the last time this kid took a bath!?), but also that Katara was able to escape without a real source of water. It reminded him of the time he recaptured Aang…without using bending.

"We've been having a lot of fun, once you and you're crazy sister stopped chasing us. No offense or anything, but is you're whole family crazy?"

Toph seemed to pick the most uncomfortable topics to discuss with Zuko, and he wondered if the earthbender was doing it on purpose. She could read his emotions after all…

"No. My mother isn't. And neither is my uncle…"

Toph noticed the present tense Zuko used when mentioning both relatives. Now it was her turn to ask the questions.

"So where are they?"

A/N: First off, in the last chapter Zuko only wanted to get on the topic of Aang and Toph together to get off the subject of Katara. Just wanted to point that out. Second, aw, Sparky ships Taang now. Hehehe. Oh, and the epilogue is going to make this deal the two made come true. Just wait and see. But we have a lot to do before we get to that!! Also, I think I dug myself into a hole. I was planning on discussing some random couples, but I already decided the perfect transition after mentioning Iroh and Ursa. I need an expert writer's opinion. Anyone?


	6. Short Stuff & Crimson Kisses

**Chapter 6: Short Stuff & Crimson Kisses**

"Ugh." Zuko rubbed the bridge of his nose again, attempting to will away the headache no forming in the back of his head.

_I've told her so much already…Too much…Would a little more really hurt?_

Zuko didn't have an answer…yet. He decided to side step the subject for the time being.

"I'd rather not discuss that right now, really Toph. Is there anything else you want to talk about before you drift off to sleep?"

Zuko was hoping the earthbender would just let it go and sleep. No such luck.

"Fine Sparky, but we're going to end up talking about it later. And by later I mean sometime tonight. Hm…Have you ever heard of the Earth Rumble?"

_Spirits is she random._ "Yah, it's an earthbending competition, right?"

"Yuh huh, and you're looking at the undefeated champ."

"I guess that earns you a nickname," Zuko said smiling, and ruffled the top of Toph's hair. "Champ."

Toph said nothing. It wasn't often that she received nicknames; she was usually on the giving end. She only smiled, repeating her newly earned nickname. "Champ."

"So, you want to tell me how I get stuck with Sparky, Princey, Sparks A Lot, and…" Zuko sighed. "Princess?"

"Why do you even ask? I could call you Cupcake if you'd like."

Zuko blinked, disgusted by the new nickname. He wouldn't give her the chance to use it though. "Sparky's fine, thanks."

"You don't really get to pick you're nickname. You _earn_ them."

"I don't even want to know what I did to deserve Princess."

Toph smirked. "So what randomness should we discuss now? Oh! Have you noticed how Haru acts around Katara?" Zuko groaned at the mention of the crush; he longed for her, and yet it was true pain to talk about her while he didn't have her… "I swear, that would be the weirdest couple ever."

Zuko laughed. Weird was definitely the right word.

Toph went on. "I mean, can you imagine kissing him with that caterpillar on his face? Gag." Toph stuck her finger down her throat for emphases, which Zuko immediately pulled back. Last thing he needed was for the bender to throw up all over him.

"I'd rather not imagine that," the banished prince answered, causing Toph to laugh. She held her sides, trying to ease away the pain her laughter caused.

"Now that's something—ha—something to think about it!" she said through her laughter.

It was Zuko's turn to smirk now. The unlikely pair of earth and firebender seemed to cause each other to laugh more times that night than either had in the last month.

"Please erase that image from your mind, Short Stuff," Zuko said, giving the young earthbender yet another nickname. "Speaking of short, what about you and The Duke?"

Toph stopped her laughter. Long enough to move her head towards Zuko, but she just started laughing again, still holding her sides.

"That's…the most insane…thing…I've ever heard!!" She said, trying to catch her breath. "You're hilarious Sparky. You have some crazy ideas going on in that head of yours." Toph smiled; she was enjoying herself, with the banished prince the others didn't trust at first.

Zuko had made note of this before. While all others of the group, especially Katara, turned him away and threatened her life, she as the only one that gave him a chance. She snuck away from the others to find him, to let him talk, to give him the benefit of the doubt, and how'd he repay her? By burning her feet, which in Toph's case was just as bad as taking her bending away.

"Toph?" Zuko asked, waiting for Toph's laughter to subside.

"Hm?"

"Why did you…why did you decide to give me another chance when the others wouldn't?"

Toph thought for a minute, causing yet another moment of silence. When she spoke, her answer surprised Zuko.

"You're uncle. He's what changed my mind."

"What?! You've seen him? When?!"

Toph shook her head. "Not recently. When I first joined the group, I ran away not long after. I can blame Sweetness for that. But anyway, you and you're uncle had just split up, and we knocked into each other. Actually…I knocked into him, bending wise. But anyway, he _listened to me_. Not many adults have done that for me, it's usually 'speak when spoken to' or whatever. He listened about my problems…about Sokka…and then he gave me the best advice he could. And it helped. You're uncle's awesome." Toph smiled, noticing the change of Zuko's vibrations. Proud.

"Yahh…He is…"

"But he also spoke about you. How you would one day stop following us, and _join_ us. To help fight, and to help win. And I believed him. Ha! Every time we fought against you, I held back. I could have done some serious damage to that skull of yours, Sparky."

"Oh, is that what happened to Sokka?" Zuko joked.

"Haha, he was messed up long before I came along. But anyway, I decided to give you the chance that your uncle told me to give you. And it paid off. You're one of us now."

The earthbender felt the vibrations equivalent to a blush and smile on Zuko's face, and then she screamed, "**Hug attack!"** and pounced on the Prince sitting beside her.

Toph took Zuko by surprise, and she probably ruined the moment, but it was worth it for them both. Zuko held Toph in his arms for a moment, knowing he found someone he could always talk to. Something he'd never truly had before. A friend.

Both benders pushed away, but their arms were still holding on to one another's. Zuko's eyes met Toph's dead ones, and he lifted a hand to move the hair out of her face.

"Thank you Toph," he said.

He knew he would always love Katara, but what he currently felt for the little earthbender was different. Not _love_ love, but the love between two friends. Zuko also knew how Toph felt about Sokka, and now perhaps Aang as well, and neither of their feelings would change. But what Zuko did next was out of friendship, and nothing more.

Zuko's lips met Toph's right cheek, causing the girl to blush a shade of crimson.

He whispered "Thank you," once again, this time in her ear, and the two moved apart.

Toph, who was smiling, suddenly punched Zuko in the side of his arm. He knew that was her way of showing affection, and the banished prince returned her smile.

_Sokka would break apart if they ever got together,_ he thought.

"Okay, now back to you're mom and uncle. We just had a heartfelt moment Sparky. There's nothing you can't tell me."

Zuko knew that as truth. He could tell her everything. And so he did.

A/N: I was telling the truth about the nickname thing. You don't get to pick your own. I have friends I've nicknamed (yah, I give nicknames A LOT. As Panda and Fetha…I'm like Toph in more ways than one :D) Boots and Birdie. It drives them insane! Boots, who doesn't even know ATLA exists, calls me Toph, not because of what she knows about the character (nothing), but because she thinks the name is FUNNY. FUNNY?! Gaaahh. (Not that I'd argue against being called Toph. I find it a privilege and honor to carry the nickname.)

Also, I hate the idea of Toph and The Duke. Hate hate hate. Yuck. Just thought it would run through Zuko's head, since he seems to love matching Toph with guys. First Aang, then The Duke. Who's next, himself? HA…ha..hehehe. Evil laugh here Oh calm down!!

Next point: The kiss was that of friendship! A peck on the cheek. You know, that European greeting thing. I love Toko, but as _friends_. Say it with me, _friends_. Nothing more, and never less.

Okay, so I fixed the problem I said I had in the last chapter about Ursa and Iroh. Next few chapters shall be pure awesomeness. But unfortunately, that means we're almost done!! 

Leme know what you think, I love hearing from you. And if I never did, then I wouldn't continue writing. So let me hear you!!


	7. Remorse and Regrets

**Chapter 7: Remorse and Regrets**

"I…they…my uncle…" Zuko sighed. He wasn't sure how to say it; all the regrets he had and the "I'm sorrys" he never gave. How could he explain it?

"Sparky." Toph laid her hand on Zuko's, and she smiled, letting him know that no matter what she would understand. This, for some reason, calmed Zuko down, and the words he needed to say seemed to flow from his mouth before he could think of them.

"I've let my uncle down, betrayed him so many times, but no matter what he was always there for me when I needed him. No matter what I had done or said, even if it was him I'd hurt, he was there for me. I…"

Toph was sitting still, her hand still on Zuko's, listening intently. This was all Zuko needed.

"When we were under Ba Sing Se, I had to choose between my uncle or my honor. I choose my honor, and made the biggest mistake of my life; I sided with Azula and fought against Katara and Aang." Zuko tried not to think about how much he had probably hurt Katara that night; she was the first to trust him and minutes later he broke that trust. The banished prince shook the thoughts from his head, and continued. "I betrayed my uncle in the process, and he was captured and jailed for doing what was _right._ When we got home…no. When we got back to the palace, I visited my uncle in the prison. At first, he wouldn't talk to me, and instead of blaming myself for his imprisonment, I blamed him. I told him he choose the wrong side, but now I understand that it was _me_, I was the one who choose to side with Azula and the Fire Lord, and to betray the only family I ever really had."

A tear fell from Zuko's good eye, and when the droplet hit the marble earth, sending vibrations to Toph, the young earthbender stroked Zuko's hand, trying the only way she could to comfort him. She wasn't about to lose the reputation she had so quickly gained within one night by doing something she'd regret later.

"I told you Zuko, you're uncle could never hate you. You're the son he doesn't have. When someone truly loves you, nothing you ever say or do will erase that love from their heart. Ever." Toph smiled, realizing the knowledge of her own words, which quickly faded to a frown as soon as she realized she was getting soft. "So tough up, Sparky, because you still haven't told me about your mom."

Toph, the young earthbender Zuko could call his sister of tonight, had the strangest way of getting to the firebender. He realized that he didn't have anyone else to comfort him, and the same for her. They had found comfort in each other.

The banished prince wiped the tears from his face, and sighed.

"For so long, I thought my mom was dead. And then I learned that she traded her life for mine, and if my…father," Zuko spit out the word, knowing it was the wrong one to use to describe the Fire Lord, "could be even slightly trusted, she might just be alive. I want to find her, but… Toph, she risked her life for mine. And I repaid her by throwing away my life and becoming as malicious as Azula, I wouldn't even forgive myself for that."

Toph punched Zuko in the arm for the um-tenth time that night.

"What about the fact that you threw away the life of a prince to find us, and not to find and kill Aang, but to _join_ him. You're doing what's right now, and that's all that should matter to your mom or Iroh. There's no way in hell anyone could ever compare you to Azula or the Fire Lord, Zuko. You're fighting against them. You're fighting with _us._ If I were your mom, I'd be _proud._ And knowing Iroh, he is proud of you Zuko. I know he is."

Toph short arms wrapped around Zuko's waist, giving him a sideways hug. She pulled away quickly, and turned her head away from Zuko as her cheeks betrayed her and began to blush.

"Thank you Toph."

She turned back towards the firebender, smiled, and said, "Don't mention it Sparky."

The couple sat there for a while, both in their own thoughts about the other.

Zuko was the one to break the silence. "Toph?"

"Yah?"

"I think…I think I have something for you. Stay here, okay? I'll be right back."

He was gone before she could answer. But she knew he'd be back. Zuko always came back.

A/N: Damn, I'm getting all mushy again. You see what Toko does? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I think there might be around two or three left, which sucks because I really like this story. They can't stay up forever though. So ya, there might be one more chapter, and then the epilogue. Gosh, I don't want this story to end at all! Tell me what you think, please. And also, if you don't have anything nice to say, just shut up, alright? Thanks.


	8. Emeralds, Badgermoles, & Dragons Oh My!

**Chapter 8: Emeralds, Badgermoles, and Dragons. Oh My!**

Toph fingered her space rock bracelet, tracing her finger over the engraving of the fire nation symbol, quickly changing it to the air temple symbol and back again. She pinched and unpinched her fingers a few more times until she finally decided on the symbol she preferred to he accompany her own. Then she laid her head back against a pillow and waited, impatiently strumming her fingers against the cool marble trying to find Zuko's vibrations.

Finally Zuko walked in, carrying two parcels. Toph perked up and pressed her back against the stonewall, arms folded against her chest.

"Took you long enough Sparky. I thought Crazula finally got you."

Zuko smirked at Toph's nickname for his sister, considering how truly accurate it was. He sat down beside Toph, who spread the blanket over both of their legs, blushing crimson. Zuko noticed Toph shiver, and he put his arm around her neck, becoming her own personal warmer.

"Thanks Sparky. So what'd you bring me?"

Zuko's crooked smile once again appeared on his face, and he held out the smaller bundle for Toph to grab. Then remembering she was blind and couldn't see his gesture, he placed the small package in her outstretched palms.

_I guess I'm so comfortable with her that I don't even notice she's blind anymore_, Zuko thought proudly.

"You wanna tell me what I'm holding Zuko? Or should I just throw it at you and see if it inflects any serious damage?"

The banished prince said nothing, but only continued to smile as he unwrapped Toph's first present. Within the paper wrappings was a small black chocker, with deep emerald green jewels bordering it. The little earthbender knew her birthstone, through its weight, and she understood the value of the chocker, which befuddled her. Toph fingered the necklace in her palm, and looked up at Zuko, her blind eyes wide in confusion.

"You're not… You're not asking me to… Are you?"

Shock was all over Zuko's face, but he quickly laughed it off. "No, don't worry. It's um…well… I thought I would need to persuade you guys a bit more to allow me to join your group. So I brought presents. This one was for you. Do you want me… Do you want me to help you put it on?"

Again Toph blushed, and so her own words wouldn't betray her, she only nodded in reply. The earthbender faced the other way and sat perfectly still while Zuko helped clasp the chocker to her neck. Toph turned back around and fingered the front of the necklace, which held the biggest emerald of all in its center.

"Thank… thank you Sparky." Toph stuttered, still surprised. Zuko smiled, almost happy of the effect he seemed to have on the young girl.

Toph realized she was getting all girly in front of Zuko, and decided she'd shown enough of that side of her for one night. She punched Zuko in the side of his arm with a smile, her symbol of affection, and nodded towards the larger parcel.

"Now what's that?"

This present wasn't wrapped for two reasons. First off, it wasn't meant to be given as a present to any of the group, and secondly, it didn't have any monetary value. It was very sentimentally valuable to the young Prince Zuko though, and it still did now that he was over. What Zuko held in his hands now was a children's storybook. Toph felt for the book and then looked up at the firebender, once again confused.

Zuko sighed. Yet another secret he would have to reveal. It seemed that's all the couple had been doing that night; revealing one another's secrets.

"My uncle gave me this book when I was about The Duke's age. He would read a story to me every night before I went to bed. I couldn't fall asleep without it."

Toph tried not to laugh, tried not to ruin the moment, but she failed, and her bells of laughter rang in Zuko's ears. "And you kept it because…"

"I thought I could tell the youngest of you a bedtime story?" he answered, teasingly.

"I can tell you're lying Sparky," the earthbender teased right back.

Zuko shrugged, once again ignoring Toph's blindness.

"These stories mean something to do you… They remind you of your uncle." Toph stated this as fact; of course she knew.

Zuko ignored her assumptions. "There's one story in particular I'm sure you'll like."

"Kay… Read me what you got, Sparky."

"The Story of the Badgermole and the Dragon.

All know that dragons hide and find home within each of the four elements. Some swim in the water, others fly through the sky, some find shelter in caves, and ours migrate towards the sun.

The dragon of this story was most fond of the earth, traveling from cave to cave, never to find the perfect one. He was a blood red dragon, and the scales on his right side seemed scratched and scarred, probably from rubbing against so many hard rocks while traveling through the caves.

One night the dragon found a cave, and he flew in to get shelter from a storm. As the dragon traveled deeper into the cave, he noticed markings of animal footprints. The farther he moved through the cave, the more prints he found. That's when he heard a soft weeping sound.

The dragon turned to find a small badgermole; one that seemed to be a runt in comparison to the usual size of a teen badgermole. The dragon comforted the creature, who was all alone in the cave, and the two quickly became friends."

Zuko cleared his throat, and then continued on, stealing glances at Toph's reaction to the story every while. She seemed very attentive, although a smile was across her face.

"The scarred pr—dragon and runt of a badgermole were inseparable after their first encounter. The two found food together, played and battled together, and each afternoon returned to their cave together. Even at night, when the dragon rolled up to get some sleep did the badgermole follow right behind, cuddling atop the dragon's scales where the young creature could see its friend's head. The badgermole would improve her earthbending with encouragement from the dragon, who bent fire to keep the little badgermole warm. The two creatures grew old together, and anyone who ever sees a badgermole and dragon together to this day, or a friendly earth and firebender will know that the couple has been blessed by the spirits of Ore and Bit."

Zuko closed the book, a huge grin on his face.

"Sparky, you totally made that up," Toph said through her own grin, then punched Zuko yet again in the arm. You would think he'd have the sense to catch her fist in his hand by now.

"Why don't you look down at the page and see for yourself, Badger Bit?" he answered, teasing the young earthbender yet again with a new nickname

Toph punched him in the shoulder in reply, blushing and smiling. Then for the first time that night, she yawned.

_She's finally tired_, Zuko thought. His mouth formed the shape of an O as Toph moved herself closer to him, then laid her head upon his shoulder, ignoring his nervous vibrations.

"Night Sparky," she said through another yawn.

"Goodnight Toph," Zuko whispered in reply. The banished prince held the earthbender in his arm and laid his head atop hers. After a long night of stories and secrets, he was ready to fall asleep. And sleep he did.

--

"Aang… Have you seen Zuko? He went off to put Toph to bed ours ago and he never came back."

"He's not in his room?"

"No. You don't think he went off to find his sister and her two groupies, do you?" Katara said this without her usually angry tone, as if she was faking her hatred towards the banished prince.

"Katara, give it a rest. I trust Zuko. He's one of us now."

"Trust…right. Let's look in Toph's room. He can't be anywhere else."

The door to the earthbender's room opened, and what lay before Katara and Aang's eyes came to them as a surprise. There were Zuko and Toph, his arm around her and head resting on hers as she lay on his side with her arms around his waist, both fast asleep.

"How do you think **that** happened?"

Katara eyed the book on Zuko's lap. "They probably fell asleep telling stories and secrets. Let's leave them to sleep." And with that she softly closed the door, leaving the oddest couple ever to be found to sleep in one another's arms.

A/N: Omg, I can't believe I finished this. This isn't the entire story, but technically this is the last chapter. There will be an epilogue, and I found a way to make the story go one forever, if you'd like me to do so. I need to hear that at least 15 people want this story continued though…

Ore and Bit. Hehe, I couldn't think of any names, and I saw my Orbit gum pack…I thought it made sense; ore has to be fired up to be created, hence the dragon, and Bit sounds cute for a runt of a badgermole. And that's going to be Zuko's new nickname for Toph, BadgerBit. Ah! Well anyway, I had tons of fun with this. I hope you liked it!! Oh, and what symbol do you think Toph picked for her bracelet?


	9. Its Not Over

**Epilogue: It's Not the End:**

"Do you actually think this is going to work?"

"Just go for it Sparky, I've got your back."

"Yah? So Aang's not gonna end up all Avatar State on my ass?"

Toph laughed, "I can't keep any promises." And with that she pushed the scarred prince towards the waterbending master, a large grin on her face that signaled for trouble.

It was the morning after Toph and Zuko's night of endless story and secret telling, and it was, of course, Toph's idea that the both of them act upon their feelings for their fellow group members. So the earthbender dragged Zuko to the main room of the temple, where Katara worked on laundry. Toph hid behind a marble pillar close enough for her to hear, knowing that Aang was a floor above feeding Appa. He would have to cross the earthbender before he got any where near the soon-to-be couple.

Zuko walked his way towards Katara, hoping he wouldn't trip and make a fool of himself. The banished prince was clumsier than he let on. When he reached the waterbender, she either pretended not to notice or wasn't aware of Zuko's presence. He cleared his throat, and Katara looked up.

Toph laughed, low enough that neither bender could hear her. Upon her request, Zuko left the room shirtless, knowing the effect it would have on Katara. The earthbender could feel her friend's heartbeat exceed past any normal rate, causing the young bender to laugh even more. The look on her face was priceless, even if Toph couldn't see it.

"Um…" Of all the things for Zuko to be nervous about. The attack against his father, he was ready for. Killing his sister, Zuko was actually excited for that. But confronting Katara about the feelings he had for her. Not a chance that was going to happen without him chocking up.

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the words. Katara only starred, a smug look on her face as she waited. That made everything _much_ easier.

"Katara, I…" Zuko mumbled the last of his words, coherent to Toph's acute and expecting ears but not at all to Katara, who frowned. The banished prince sighed, and started again.

"I…" Zuko stared at his feet, trying to untie the knot his tongue had formed.

Toph laughed at Zuko's struggles. _It shouldn't be this hard for a prince,_ she thought. Suddenly she heard laughing from in front of her, and instantly knew who it was. _Here comes Twinkletoes. Now it's my turn._

"Hey Toph, what's up!?" Aang asked in his always cheerful voice, a smile planted on his face.

"Oh nothing Airhead. I've just been thinking," Toph replied, taking a seat on the marble below her. Aang followed suit.

"What about?"

"Me…you…us…" Toph was using her innocent-blind-girl routine, and Aang was eating it up.

"_Us?!"_ he chocked, blushing.

"Yah, but I guess that'll never happen. Seeing as that you're all wrapped up with Katara," the earthbender answered. She could feel Aang's vibrations; the Avatar was nervous, and he wasn't the only one.

_I'll let that sink in for a bit…_ Toph thought. _And in the meantime, I better save 'Ore.'_ As expected, Zuko was still stammering in front of Katara, making a fool of himself.

"Hey Sparky! Get your butt over here! Let's go ruin Sokka's relationship with FanFace or something!"

Zuko sighed, thankful for Toph's save. He looked back at Katara, apology written all over his face, and before he ran towards Toph, he dropped down to Katara's level, quickly kissed her on the cheek, and whispered the words, "Interested?" And with that he was gone.

"Nice one Sparky," Toph said as Zuko picked her up. The firebender smiled and looked down at Aang, who had surprise written all over his face. The same could be said for Katara.

"We're making such a mess of this place," he answered as he walked away from the others and headed towards the gardens.

"Yah, but we're a good pair at doing so."

"I can't argue with that, Badger Bit," Zuko said, matching the smile that was Toph's own face.

"When we're through, everyone'll live happily ever after…"

Zuko smirked, knowing that Toph wasn't done.

"With a few exceptions of course."

"Oh, but of course."

--

A/N: If you read this very carefully, you can see a hint here that tells you the answer to my "Thing's I'll Never Say" Oneshot. If you can tell me the hint (just c/p the 2 sentences that's a hint!) and who the couple is in the other story, you get the next chapter of STS dedicated to you. That's right, I've gotten enough votes for STS to be continued!! Who's happy? Shrug Don't care if you are or not! Lol, anyway, for the continuing chapters, I'm going to write connected oneshots about Taang and Zutara. And then every night (in the same chapter) afterwards, Toko will talk about what happened. It will be very similar to the previous chapters, in a way… You'll see what I mean soon enough.


	10. Actions and Reactions

**Chapter 10: Actions and Reactions**

"So explain to me why we're doing this again," Zuko asked for the third time, and yet again Toph continued to ignore him. The young earthbender was feeding Appa, whispering directions in his ears that Zuko, more than confused, was unable to hear. The flying bison moaned happily; it seemed that he understood the earthbender's request.

"Come on Appa, lets go cause Sweetness a heart attack," Toph said, smiling.

"**What?!** Toph!" Zuko followed behind bison and bender, both ignoring him.

"Toph!" But she only smirked at Zuko's impatient and curiosity.

The three were headed towards the main room of the temple, and as Toph and Appa walked through the wide wall that would lean them there, Zuko saw a way to get the answers he wanted. He ran towards the left wall and sprang upwards, skimming the wall and when suddenly at its peak, pushed forward and did a flip in midair, landing right in front of Toph, who didn't seem the least surprised.

The young earthbender smiled, waiting for Zuko to speak first, although she expected the words he would use before they were spoken.

"Where are you going and how does this involve both Appa and Katara, Toph?" The kindness and teasing tone Zuko usually reserved for the earthbender was gone, but he still fought to remain calm.

Toph only cocked her head to the side, her dead eyes gazing into Zuko's. "You just kissed Sweetness, and the most response you got from her was a surprised, blank stare. You still don't believe me when I tell you she feels the same way you do, I can feel it in your vibrations. So I'm going to _prove_ it to you."

And with that she shoved past Zuko and continued towards the main hall, expecting on his following her. Katara was in the main room, trying to finish off the preparations that she could before the gang left the temple to prepare for the arriving of the comet. They only had two weeks before that very date. Toph walked the length of the room, Appa stomping along side her, feeling her vibrations towards the abyss at the end of the temple. Zuko, now blushing as he felt Katara's eyes on his back, ran after the earthbender, still unaware of her plans. The water and firebender hadn't been able to stay in the same room longer for a few minutes since the night before; since they're unexpected kiss. Zuko tried to concentrate on remaining calm as he reached Toph.

"Alright Appa, you know what to do. Go play," she said, patting the sky bison on the head, as far as she could reach, and he flew off. Instead of headed upwards, into the bright sky, the bison flew into the dark abyss.

"Toph…" Zuko started, but her hand flew up and covered her friends' mouth. Her ears twitched as if she was trying to hear some thing, and then she moved her attention back towards Zuko.

"Shut it, Flame-e-Ore," she said, combining Aang's fire nation lingo with Zuko's symbolic dragon. "Sugar Queen is watching you as if her life depended on it. Knowing you, that isn't enough proof to say that she likes you, so I'm going to show you."

Toph started up her "innocent blind girl" routine, and grabbed her head, swaying side to side. Her knees began to buckle from under her, and before she could fall over the side of the abyss, Zuko caught her in his arms.

"What was that for!?" he whispered in her ears, cautious that Katara could hear them. He stole a glance at her, at soon as his eyes hit hers, the waterbender, turned her head, blushing that he had caught her watching.

"She's was watching you, wasn't she Sparky? And now she's embarrassed that you caught her. And I bet you anything that she's wishing that you were holding her this way, instead of it being me. Speaking of which, you can let go of me now," Toph said with a smile, and Zuko helped her stand upright. His vibrations told her that he was blushing and nervous; apparently he accepted everything Toph told him as truth.

"That could just be a coincidence, BadgerBit," Zuko replied. Even though he believed everything that Toph pointed out, he wanted more proof. He wanted to be _sure_ that Katara felt the same way.

Toph snorted, knowing he was lying through his teeth. "Fine," she said, shaking her head and pulling off her headband as her hair fell in front of her eyes. "Move my hair out of my face."

"What?" Zuko asked, surprised. What kind of request was that?

"Just do it, Sparky, you'll see."

Zuko sighed, but did as she asked, pushing Toph's ravenette hair out of her face and pushing it behind her ear. Toph blushed from the contact, which caused Zuko to do the same. Zuko, without realizing he was doing so, left his right had resting on Toph's cheek, and he felt the heat on her face.

Toph's ears picked up the sound of a low growl, and she laughed at Katara's reaction to the benders' contact. Zuko was confused by Toph's smile, but turned to see the frown and cross-eyes on Katara's face, and immediately understood as he dropped his hold on Toph.

"Alright Toph, you've proved your point. Now what did you need Appa for?"

The earthbender only smiled, excited by her own plans. "This!" she yelled, pushing Zuko over the edge of the abyss.

"**NO! ZUKO!"** Katara screamed, running towards the edge where Toph stood, a wide smile lining her face. The waterbender grabbed Toph and starting shaking her.

"**What did you do that for, Toph?! What has he ever done to **_**you?!**_**"**

Toph peeled Katara's hands off of her, still smiling. "I was about to ask you the same question, Sweetness. You don't realize what you have to miss until its gone, do you?"

Katara only starred at the earthbender, confused by the girl's answer and her own response to Zuko's fall at the same time.

"Ugh!" she groaned in frustration as tears began to build up in her eyes, and she looked over the edge of the abyss, hoping to see Zuko there, holding on to a rock for his dear life. That wasn't what she saw at all.

Zuko stood, in one peace and his own surprised look on his face, on Appa's lap, who rose higher until he landed on the floor beside Toph. The earthbender pet the bison's side in thanks, then stepped back, waiting to see what would happen next.

Zuko jumped down from Appa, starring at Katara, who was perhaps in shock.

"But she…but you…and then…"

Zuko blinked, saying nothing in reply. Unexpectedly, Katara forced herself on the firebender, wrapping her arms around him as she kissed, and then Zuko, wide-eyed, leaned in and kissed her back.

Toph smirked, and walked away from the love scene.

"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction," she muttered, walking away with a smile on her face.

_**That Night**_

"You couldn't come up with any better ideas to prove it to me other than shoving me into an endless void?!"

"You couldn't just trust me and believe me when I told you that she had feelings for you?!" Toph countered.

Zuko groaned in defeat. He had gotten what he wanted, a response from Katara; the one he had hoped for and yet didn't expect.

Toph snickered, as if reading her friend's mind. "I didn't expect her to kiss you, though. You didn't have any trouble breathing through that, did you?" she half joked.

"Haha."

Zuko grabbed his pillow from the side of the room, throwing it against the wall of Toph's bedroom where they sat last night, talking. It seemed that history was ready to repeat itself. Another long night.

Toph pressed her back against half of the pillow, leaving the other half for Zuko, who sat beside her.

"I didn't expect her to kiss me either, BadgerBit. But maybe it would have been better if she hadn't. She won't look me in the eye now."

Toph snickered, obviously amused. "Sweetness is just embarrassed, she's usually not so straightforward. I bet you anything she's gonna want to have a chitchat about all this pretty soon though."

"What? Ughh…" Zuko groaned, then sat up, realizing something.

"You set me up."

"Hm?" Toph asked with a smile.

"You knew that if she took a step forward, she would want me to follow after her. You knew that she would put me on the spot and ask, and you knew that would be more than amusing on your half. Toph…"

"Alright, alright. No need to get worked up, Sparky. Save that for Sugar Queen," Toph mumbled the latter of her words, smiling. "So what if I planned it? You needed a push forward…literally!"

"Ugh…" Zuko decided not to argue with her; not only would she win, but she would bring up something even less comfortable. Time to turn the tables.

"So what happened with Aang out there? I haven't seen him all morning, actually."

"That's because you've been with me, and Twinkletoes is avoiding me."

"What, did you kiss him too?"

"Ha! I'm not so bold, Sparky. I just got Airhead's mind twirling, that's all."

"You must have set a tornado lose in that kid's head. What'd you do?"

"Just told him that he should consider the issue of 'us' and that he needed to let go of Sweetness. So yes, there probably is a tornado whirling around somewhere, whether in his head or Aang being the one that caused it." Toph smiled at her own joke; she would give Aang all the time he needed to let that tornado to die out.

"We really are making a mess out of this place, aren't we?"

"Yep. One natural disaster at a time."

A/N: Hehe. What did you think. I told you that part 2 would be different. Its going to start of with either something Taangy or Zutaraness, and then Toph and Zuko talk about it that night. So up next is Taang! I hope you guys are enjoying this!


	11. Carpe Diem

**Chapter 11: Carpe Diem**

"You want me to do what?!"

Spending more and more time with Toph had taught Zuko a few things, including to dunk whenever her temper set it. Good thing he did, because a second later a boulder came flying his way, instead ramming into the wall behind him.

"We need to get Sokka out of your head once and for all," he said calmly, as if his head hadn't just been used for target practice.

"And you think telling him I like him is the way to do that?! **Are you out of your mind, **_**Princess!?**_" Toph's face was blushed in crimson, whether from anger or embarrassment Zuko wasn't sure.

_No more than usual,_ he thought, self-answering Toph's screams. And if the ex-prince didn't calm the young earthbender soon, he would wind up dead from one of two ways; forgetting to duck from one of Toph's boulders, or even worse, being on the receiving end of the contents of Katara's waterskins.

"If you tell him how you feel…used to feel, whichever, it'll be closure, and you can move on to Twinkle…Aang. You can move on to **Aang.**"

Toph smirked, she was having a long lasting effect on Zuko, one she was proud of. But that did not give him the right to come up with such ideas.

_This is payback for that thing with Katara and Appa,_ she thought, referring to their revelation of Katara's feelings yesterday.

"No. No no no, big freak'n **NO**, Flamed-face. **Hell no**." Another boulder rose from the pile Toph kept in her room, and Zuko flipped to his side before the two made contact.

"Toph…"

"I don't _**need**_ closure, Sparky. I'm fine. And why do you care anyway?" Toph raised her eyebrows and stomped towards Zuko.

"I think its **you** that needs closure, Sparks-a-lot, not me. **You're** the one feeling guilty about going after Sweetness when Needles still feels so much for you, and **you're** the one that's afraid to express your real feelings." With every "you" and "you're" Toph stabbed her finger into Zuko's chest, making her point with pain attached.

"I do not feel guilty and—"

"You're lying."

"—I am not afraid to go after Katara!"

"Still lying," Toph spread out the word, mocking Zuko in a way only she knew how.

"You're changing the subject Badger Bit! And the only way to prove to me that you don't need closure, that you're completely over Sokka, is to go tell him yourself. Carpe Diem, seize the day and all. So let's go. Unless **you're** the one who's afraid, Toph."

The earthbender groaned, Zuko knew which buttons to push alright. She marched out of the room, proving she wouldn't back down from a challenge, and stormed up to Sokka, who was holding Suki in his arms and failing at his attempts of flirting.

"Let's go Snoozles. Closure time." Toph grabbed Sokka by his collar and pulled him away (causing Suki to fall to the floor with a grunt) towards the east end of the main floor.

"Uh Toph…" Sokka said nervously, afraid he was about to be pushed off the edge of the abyss. He fought to remember what he had done to piss her off this time, but nothing came to mind.

"Listen up Snoozles, and listen hard, cause I'm only going to say this once." Toph sighed, not sure what to say next. She felt Zuko's vibrations, hiding behind a pillar not far off, and she stomped her foot down, sending a tiny earthquake under Zuko, to work as a warning that she'd kill him later.

"I used to haveacrushonyou," she mumbled under her breath, blushing, knowing Sokka wouldn't understand.

"Um…"

"But now your with Suki, so that doesn't matter anymore, and I'm over it," once Toph started up it was hard to stop her, and so her quick speeded rambling continued.

"I know you never…likedme that way, that you only ever thought of me as a sister, but that's alright, I completely understand. And I'm really, completely over you, because I'm inlovewith Aang now."

"Um…"

Zuko snickered from behind his hiding space, and another earthquake erupted beneath him. The scarred prince knew Sokka didn't understand a word that came from Toph's mouth, but she would get closure either way. Embarrassing one's self can do that.

"Yah, so, later Snoozles. Have fun with Suki...who I think is just about ready to kill you for dropping her and all. Yah…"

Toph sighed, knowing she had made a complete fool out of herself, and walked off towards Zuko.

"I'm going to give you until the count of three to start running, Scar Face. Then I'm going to pummel you to the ground. One…"

But Zuko grabbed the young earthbender's wrists, leaned down to her level, and whispered in her ear, "Let's get a reaction out of Sokka first…**then** you can pummel me to the ground, if you'd like."

Toph began blushing, just as Zuko knew she would, and at the minute Sokka walked past them, still in a daze. He looked up to see Zuko whispering in Toph's ear, and it looked as though he was about to kiss her on the cheek. Like Sokka would let that happen.

"Don't touch her!" Sokka yelled, pushing Zuko away. Toph counted it as a brotherly action, but Zuko knew better.

"Dude, you have Suki, and Aang's all wrapped up in your sister. Toph and I are all alone, we were just getting better equated is all." Zuko baited Sokka, knowing he would bite.

**WHAT?!** Toph mouthed, blushing a darker shade of crimson than before.

"What?! Man, stay away from her!" Sokka stepped in front of Toph and pushed Zuko away, wary of pissing off a firebender.

Zuko shrugged, careful not to show his smile to Sokka, and walked off. Sokka turned to face Toph, his back to Zuko, and Zuko looked back, winked at Toph, and walked towards the main hall to wait.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you or anything, right?"

"I'm fine Snoozles. Really."

"Hm," was Sokka's only reply, but before leaving he looked down at the young earthbender he had grown so close to. He leaned in slowly, looked into her endless gaze, and kissed her on the forehead, hesitating in each step. Toph, still blushing, bit her lip and waited. But Sokka only walked off.

Toph walked into the main hall, found Zuko, and hit him upside the head.

"What in the spirits was that?!" she hissed, wary of Katara, who was doing laundry, hearing them.

"He kissed you, didn't he? You're _still_blushing."

"Yes…no…damn it Zuko!"

The scarred prince just laughed at his friend's reaction, for which she hit him again.

"This is **not** funny, Sparks! Ugh!"

"He doesn't see you as just a sister anymore, he's interested now, I can tell." Zuko looked towards Sokka, who had his arm around Suki, frowning. The warrior was trying to watch Zuko and Toph, but when his and Zuko's eyes met, he looked away.

Toph just groaned again, then stormed towards Katara, leaving Zuko to watch and see what the earthbender was up to now.

"Hey Katara, you like Zuko, don't you?"

"What?! Uh, um…" Toph had caught Katara off guard, and now it was the waterbender's turn to blush.

"I mean, what's not to like; he's a prince, he's handsome, despite the scar, and he's way more fun than Twinkletoes and Snoozles."

Aang walked into the room then, catching Toph's attention. She quickly shook her head, reminding herself to stay focused on the task at hand. Zuko and Aang spoke for a while, then both took of their shirts to begin firebending practice.

At that moment Katara's heart rate speed, causing Toph to laugh.

"I know the way you look at him, Sugar Queen. You could have yourself a Spice King, if you're bold enough. Carpe Diem and all that, Sweetness." Toph walked off, leaving Katara with her thoughts. Earth and firebender really were making a mess of the place.

Zuko and Aang were doing pushups, using firebending instead of their hands to push themselves off the ground.

"Need an extra weight, Ore?" Toph asked Zuko, who nodded, trying not to break his concentration. Toph sat atop Zuko's back, who continued with his push-ups. Both he and Aang did another 100 before the Avatar spoke up.

"Hey Toph, I could use an extra weight too…" Aang said. Toph laughed at his attempt to be suave, but climbed off of Zuko and onto Aang.

"Sure you can handle it, Twinkletoes?" Again she got a nod as a response.

Zuko gave Toph a look that could only be read as "How many hearts do you plan to steal before you pick one just right?"

Toph, smiled, shrugged, and closed her eyes, allowing both benders to complete their workout without further disruption.

****That Night****

"What exactly did you say to Katara, Toph? Every time she looked up at me during dinner she turned away blushing."

Toph shrugged, smiling. "I just told her she needed to start seizing the day, simply as that. Or, well, you could translate it to 'seize Zuko' but either way, same deal."

"You what?! Toph! Wait…Did you use my own advice against me?"

"I used your uncle's advice, but ya, basically."

Zuko groaned, throwing a pillow at Toph as he sat down beside her.

"I think I can handle it Toph, there's no need for you to—"

"—Meddle in your so called 'relationship?' What relationship? The only reason she doesn't glare at you with pure hatred is because of the…push…I gave you."

"Ha-ha. Funny Toph." The earthbender smiled, remembering the vibrations that both Katara and Zuko let off the day before when Toph pushed Zuko off the side of the abyss.

"Besides, you meddled with me and Sokka. I was fine without him knowing! Now I have to deal with him _and_ Aang. Thanks Sparky."

Zuko ignored the earthbender, wrapped in his own thoughts. He and Katara kept taking one step forward and two back, and it was getting old fast. There has to be something he could do…something.

"Something…" he muttered.

"Earth to Sparky…" Toph muttered, and Zuko, knowing how Toph's joke ended, caught the pebble in the air before it could hit him in the head.

"You've got Sweetness on the brain, don't you?" Toph asked, already knowing the answer. She lifted her hand and a million other pebbles came and joined with the rock Zuko held in his hand. The earthbender fisted her palm and the rock Zuko now held formed into a heart. Toph twitched her fingers, and the rock heart beat like a real one would.

"Talk to her, Sparks, before your heart breaks." To illustrate her point, Toph twitched her fingers again, and the heart Zuko held fell into the many pebbles it originally was.

"What am I supposed to say Toph?" Zuko eyes stared off into the distance, then looked at the pebbles in his hand, thinking.

The earthbender shrugged. "How should I know? I have to deal with Snoozles _and_ Twinkletoes now, thanks to you."

"We'll get through it, I guess. I'll talk to Katara, and you keep up your flirting with Aang. Speaking of which, I could only imagine what was going on in your head when we were working out." Zuko smiled at the image of Toph on Aang's back; surprised the earthbender didn't do anything to cause Aang more struggling.

"It takes Twinkles twice the time it takes you to do a push up, Sparky. I swear, I was about to put a marble stake to the kid's neck, see if that would speed him up."

Again Zuko laughed at the image, which he could see all to clearly.

Toph yawned, and Zuko wrapped the young bender in a blanket.

"Time for bed BadgerBit."

"Whatever Sparky. Hey, don't we have bending practice with Sweetness and Twinkle—yawn—toes tomorrow?"

Zuko groaned, and Toph feel asleep with a smile on her face.

"Carpe Diem indeed."

----

N/A: Sorry this is so short!! More later... Just not two months later, like last time. Sorry for the wait!!


	12. Battle Babes

**Chapter 12: Battle Babes**

"Alright, Katara and I against Zuko and Toph. Best benders win."

"Hold up Aang. They've been spending hour upon hour together for the past week. How do we know they haven't planned a strategy yet? No way. Toph, your with Aang, and Zuko," Toph felt Katara's vibrations, and noted that the waterbender was blushing, "you're with me."

"Looks like Sweetness wants you all to herself, Sparky," Toph said with a grin, leaving Zuko with surprise written all over his face. Toph reached Aang, and with a punch to his upper arm, said, "Let's kick some butt, Twinkletoes."

Aang laughed, who was now also blushing, and walked with Toph to the other side of temple's largest grounds. Suki and Sokka walked past the foursome, smiles on their faces.

"I bet ten cooper pieces Katara's gonna beat the crap out of Zuko before the fight even starts," Sokka whispered to his girlfriend.

"My money's on Aang. I'm telling you, him having to watch Katara and Zuko work together? He'll go into the Avatar state within minutes."

The couple shook hands and placed their bets, then sat down on the edge of the fountain over looking the grounds, giving themselves the best view.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Sokka chanted, as always the annoyance of the group.

"Shut up Sokka!" the foursome yelled in chorus.

Suki snickered, then yelled so the others could hear her. She was the referee for this fight, but whose to say she wouldn't judge things in her favor. "Ready, set, **bend!"**

Toph, with a smile on her face, shook her fists in front of her, causing the ground beneath each of the four benders to rise into the air. Now each of them stood on tall marble pillars, giving the two earthbenders the advantage.

"Hey Sparky! You're not afraid of heights now, are you?" Toph laughed, knowing that the nervous vibrations actually came from Katara.

Zuko smirked, knowing Toph would notice, and looked to his right, at Katara, who looked down; she was literally and figuratively on the edge.

"Hey," the firebender called, causing her to look up. "Its alright, just focus on getting your payback for having Toph put you up here." Zuko smiled at Katara, who blushed in reply, and then both benders faced forward with determination on their faces.

Zuko punched the air three times in Aang's direction, sending fire blasts his way. Aang turned the air in front of him with his hands, causing a small funneled tornado to appear that suck up Zuko's blasts and sent them back his way.

"Oh that is so old-school Aang," Katara said, remembering their days towards the North Pole weeks ago; the last time Aang had used that exact trick. The waterbender swept her hands upwards, and water from a nearby fountain rose into the air, aimed towards Toph.

The "Blind Bandit" hollowed out her earth pillar and fell downward, careful to close the opening she created so water wouldn't follow after her. Once she met bottom ground, she waited for the water to pass, and then lowered her hands, palms down. The pillar she stood in feel to the ground, and with a sweep of her hand created large boulders that floated around her.

"I put you up there!" she screamed from below. "And I can sure as hell bring you **down!**"

And with that Katara's marble pillar shook and fell with such speed that she lost her concentration…and footing. Zuko cursed under his breath when he noticed her fall downward, and he jumped feet first behind her. Once the ex-prince was in the air beside Katara, he grabbed her at the waist and shot fire from his feet, keeping them both in mid-air. He landed on the marble floor, and both benders stepped away from one another, blushes bright on their faces.

Aang looked between Zuko and Katara, noticing the contact and hint of crimson on each of their faces. Toph snickered, grabbing the Avatar's attention, and he smiled, his worries lost. Toph raised a brow towards Aang, as if to ask him if he were ready, and he nodded. The boulders that were floating around Toph came shot towards Aang, who created another funnel and aimed the boulders towards the blushing duo.

"Hey!" Katara screamed as she dodged the marble rocks.

"We're still in the middle of a battle Sweetness. There'll be time for silent flirting with Sparks-a-lot later.

"**What?!**" both Katara and Sokka screamed.

"**Toph!"** Zuko yelled in mid-groan.

The earthbender just shrugged, noting that both firebender and waterbender were blushing now, and refocused her mind on the battle at hand. She shook her balled up fists, causing Zuko and Katara to sink into a pit of quicksand she had created.

"Huh?" the two said, and looked down at their trapped feet. Toph just smiled again, and pushed her hands to opposite sides, splitting up Zuko and Katara to opposite sides of the field.

Katara, now closer to Toph, yelled at the earthbender, yet in a tone low enough that the others couldn't here. "What business is it of yours Toph?!"

"Oh, its every bit my business, whether or not Sparky begins to droll over you like Twinkletoes once did. I've got to make sure no permanent brain damage occurs. After all, look what happened to Sokka; he's your brother, spending most of his life with you completely erased any brain cells he may have once had." Toph smirked, proud of herself, and released Katara from the quicksand trap. The young earthbender raised an eyebrow, as if to provoke her waterbending friend.

Katara, face red with anger, bent water from the fountain beside her, prepping for yet another fight with Toph. In response, Toph laughed, and said with her signature smirk, "Game on."

"Wait!" Aang yelled, but he was stopped in mid-step. Without looking away from Toph, Katara was bloodbending, her arms pointed towards the others, preventing Aang and Zuko from moving towards them.

"Nuh uh Twinkletoes, theirs no siding with Sugar Queen on this one." Toph lifted her hands palms up, and the metal armor Appa once wore (that _somebody—_Sokka—lazily left around) became a large metal cage around the boys. The remainder of the metal Toph used to trap Sokka and Suki, who were so distracted by each other's lips that they didn't even notice.

Toph turned back towards Katara and shifted her right leg forward, kicking up the marble earth beneath her. Two fist-sized marble orbs flew towards Katara, covering her hands and stopping her from bending. The earthbender then lifted her hands into the air, creating yet again an earth pillar that reached into the morning light.

"Afraid of heights Sweetness?" Toph called from below, feeling Katara's nervous vibrations.

Katara shook in fear from her perch, then looked down at Zuko, trying to focus as she had before. Their eyes locked, and the ex-prince smiled her way, giving Katara the confidence she needed. She bent the fountain's water into a gigantic wave, which lifted up towards her and then carried her down a few feet from Toph.

"Not anymore," the waterbender said, then sent her water whips towards Toph, who easily dodged. While Toph was distracted, Katara focused on the flow of blood in the young earthbender's body, stopping the blood currents and freezing Toph in place.

"Cheater," Toph sighed as she was forced to take shorter breaths. She was disgusted by bloodbending, never allowing Katara to practice on her. Losing control of her own actions caused Toph to be reminded of her parents, two people she'd rather live without.

"Apologize!" Katara yelled, her hands in front of her as she struggled to control the blood flow in Toph's body.

"Why apolo…gize…when what I said was true?!" Toph tried to escape Katara's grasp, but her bending was too practiced now.

"Apologize!" Katara screamed again, her face again red from anger. She was beginning to slip in concentration as her emotions took control.

"You know Sugar Queen, I have my own special bending," Toph said with confidence; Katara's anger was weakening her concentration. Toph could move her fingers now, and with one snap the metal bands on the waterbender's wrists, forearms, and ankles contracted, causing Katara to gasp in pain as the gold and cooper metals dug into her skin.

Katara let go of Toph, now clawing at her armbands. Now _her_ blood flow was stopping, and she could no longer bend. She kneeled down in pain, and looked up at Toph, who was grinning.

"How's it feel to lose control Sweetness?" Toph's fingers were glued together, her hands pointed straight ahead of her, in Katara's direction. Toph expanded Katara's metals to cover most of her skin, giving the earthbender more control. She walked forward, concentrating deeply, and kneeled down to Katara.

"You know," Toph whispered, "none of this would happen if you were honest about your feelings towards Sparky."

"What feelings?" Katara hissed in frustration as she glared at Toph.

"You know what I'm talking about Sweetness; I can tell when you're lying, remember?"

"Even if I did…like him," Katara sighed, "what business would it be of yours?"

"Haven't we been through this already? The way you affect Zuko _is_ my business. He's my friend, and I never want to see him hurt."

"What makes you think I'll hurt him?" Katara asked, confused.

"Twinkletoes," Toph whispered in reply, now frowning. "You rejected him, and he was depressed for weeks. I'm sure you remember that."

Katara shuddered, which was hard while her body was being controlled, and then whispered, "I'd never do that to Zuko. Don't you…don't you want him to be happy?"

"Don't play that card Sugar Queen. Of course I want him to be happy," Toph twitched her fingers, trying to decide whether or not to let go of her control over Katara. "But how do I know _you're _what makes him happy?"

By this time the girls were face to face, glaring at each other as they spoke.

"You know him better than anyone else Toph. And your pranks always have a reason. The last few days, you've been testing our feelings for one another." Katara paused for a second, probably to catch a breath, and then continued. "The cliff, having him walk around shirtless more than usual, and yesterday you were a bit too direct in your attempts, if you ask me. You're not just doing this to tease Zuko, you're doing it to test _me_." Katara looked up at Toph—which was a first—and raised a brow, challenging her to respond.

"And you don't pass yet, Sweetness. Not today, anyway." And with that Toph let go of her grasp on Katara's metal, shaping it into its original form, and walked away. Katara rubbed her skin where the metal had sunken in, a smile of accomplishment on her face. Toph walked towards the larger cage and bent the metal back into Appa's armor, then grabbed Zuko by the shirt and pulled him forward.

"Come on Sparky, we've got plans to make." Zuko followed behind Toph, but not before looking back at Katara, who was smiling his way. The ex-prince smiled back, and with a sigh Toph dragged him away.

Before the two could get to the main hall, they crossed Aang's path, who looked as though he was waiting for someone. When his eyes meet Toph, Aang's face glowed, causing Toph to laugh and stop.

"Saw something you liked over there Twinkletoes?" Toph asked with a grin.

"Buh…uhmm…" the Avatar was for once speechless, and Toph walked away with Zuko, a smirk on her face.

****That Night****

"So are you going to tell me what you and Katara were fighting over or am I going to have to ask her myself?" Zuko asked as they reached their room.

"You don't have the guts Princess." Toph replied, and plopped down onto the ground beneath her.

Zuko walked up to Toph, a crooked smile on his face, and grabbed her right ankle, causing her to hang upside down. Toph snickered in reply, grabbed her space rock armband, and bent it so that one tip was pointing like a spear. Zuko, expecting as much, held Toph as far away from himself as he could and sent a small spark towards Toph's once bracelet. The space rock heated up in her hand, causing the earthbender to drop the spear to the ground with a yelp.

"Cheater," they both muttered.

Zuko snickered now, slightly annoyed that they were speaking simultaneously now. "Speak up Toph, what'd you tell her?"

Her blood was rushing to her head now, but Toph just made a hand movement across her mouth that made it look like she was locking her lips, then threw the imaginary key to the ground with a smile.

Zuko, now frowning, shook Toph, which only resulted in laughter. "There's no budging you, is there?" he sighed.

Toph shook her head, and with that Zuko sat her down right side up, them both resting their backs against the cold marble wall. Toph mumbled something inapprehensive, and with a smile Zuko used the imaginary key to unlock Toph's mouth.

"I'm probably going to regret that."

"Probably," Toph said with a smile as she bent her space earth back into an armband.

The little earthbender then got the strangest feeling. "Hey, do you ever get that feeling that you're forgetting something?"

Zuko looked at Toph but couldn't remember anything. The earthbender shrugged in reply, and the two rested their heads as they fell asleep, their thoughts on love and heartbreak.

---

"Hey, Suki, where'd this cage come from?"


	13. Midnight Mehem, Morning Madness, &

**Chapter 13: Midnight Mehem, Morning Madness, & Unanswered Questions**

"Wake up Sparky! Come on! I thought firebenders were supposed to rise with the sun!"

Zuko groaned, pushing Toph's nudging hands away. He peaked his eyes open, noticed Toph's room was pitch black, and quickly shut his eyes.

"It's not morning Toph. Go back to sleep," he moaned.

"Yah, like I'm supposed to know that." Toph waved her right hand in front of her blind eyes, but Zuko was already asleep once more. "Oh come on! I'm bored." She started nudging him again.

Toph had learned from Ty Lee's attacks which pressure points could renter a person unconscious or temporarily block their bending, but she had also learned which points could force a person to bend. Toph patted Zuko's arm until she found his wrist, and using her space rock bracelet that she bend into a round corner blade, poked Zuko just above his palm while amazing that hand at the other. A small blade shot out from wrist, and he cried out.

"I'm up, I'm up!" He shouted as he sprang awake, then looking back down at Toph and seeing a smile on her face that showed the young earthbender was proud of herself, shouted, "What in the Spirit World did you do?!"

Toph shrugged and stood up, repositioning her bracelet on her forearm. "I told you, I'm bored. So let's go have some fun."

__

"Where are we going," Zuko whispered as he and Toph snuck through the Air Temple's halls. He had a small flame in the palm of his hand, lighting their way as the two walked passed the bedrooms of their fellow benders.

"After months of traveling with Aang, Katara, and Sokka, I've learned a few things about each of them. One thing is, Aang and Katara both talk in their sleep."

Toph smiled to herself; while Aang and Katara spoke in their sleep, it was Sokka and herself who had the more annoying habit. They both snored.

"It's a like an unasked for peek at their unconsciousness," she continued. "You never know what you might hear."

"So what, we're going to sneak into their rooms and listening to their sleep talking? I know you better than that Toph." Zuko had expected something a little more dangerous when she said "fun."

"Yes, you do," she replied, a smile still painted on her face.

__

The first room the two benders infiltrated was Katara's, who was sound asleep inside her old Water Tribe sleeping bag. Zuko smiled, noting how beautiful she slept with a smile on her face. Toph also made a mental note; if Zuko's heart didn't slow down soon, it would be likely to burst.

"Zuko." Katara said his name so clearly that it sounded as though she were awake, and Zuko stepped back, afraid that she caught them in the act. She said it again; rougher this time, and Zuko opened his mouth to apologize. Before he could, Toph slapped her hand over his lips, silencing him. She pointed to Katara, who rolled over in her sleep, and yet continued to speak.

"Traitor," she whispered, causing Zuko to frown. "Liar." No, this wasn't what he wanted to hear.

He tried to walk away, but Toph stopped him, and mouthed, "Wait." He frowned and shook his head, but she had his wrist in a death grip, refusing to let go.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, surprising Zuko, who just stood there, practically shell shocked. Toph nudged him, and whispered, "Say sorry."

Zuko frowned, confused, but shrugged and did as the younger girl suggested. He walked close enough to Katara to touch her, and just loud enough for her to hear whispered, "I'm sorry too."

"You…don't deserve…this." The waterbender said slowly, as if she were struggling with her words. "You sacrificed…everything."

Zuko was no longer with Toph, was no longer in Katara's room while she slept; he was talking to Katara, face to face, imagining the conversation he always wished he could have with her.

"To be with you," he whispered. "I sacrificed everything I didn't deserve, to be with you."

Zuko brushed the few wisps of hair that covered Katara's closed eyes, and she smiled in her sleep. He kissed her forehead, and returned the smile.

Toph quietly coughed, and Zuko turned back, forgetting where he was.

"That was sweet. Really. Too bad you can't do that while she's actually _conscious_, Sparky. Otherwise it'd be an A plus performance. Now can we get on to the fun part, please?"

Toph wouldn't show it, but she honestly thought what Zuko had said was beautiful. If only a guy could say those words to her. But she knew no one ever would.

"Be by guest, Bandit," Zuko said, and Toph walked over and knelled down beside him.

"Aang's mine now, Katara," she whispered, a smile on her face that Zuko could almost compare to Azula's. Almost.

"No…reckless…dangerous…irresponsible."

"Is that what you think of me? Irresponsible? That hurts Sweetness."

Katara turned over again, her mind obvious reeling. "Stay away…"

"Why? So you can have both Twinkletoes and Sparky to yourself? I don't think so Sugar Queen."

Zuko furrowed his brow, wondering what Toph's point in all this was.

Katara only scowled at Toph's questions, exactly what she would do if she was still awake.

"Is that it then, Katara? Do you still have feelings for Twinkletoes?"

Zuko almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"I…I…" Instead Katara turned once more.

Toph turned back to Zuko. "She's struggling with her unconsciousness. She doesn't know the answer to perhaps to her own questions."

Zuko nodded, not knowing what to say. He only starred back at the girl he had so many feelings for; and she didn't know about it at all.

The two stood up and crossed the room, ready to leave, when Katara spoke once more.

"Aang deserves…not me…not dishonesty…love."

Toph turned back, anger rising. She carefully concealed her emotions and said calmly, "You don't think I could love Aang?"

"Unconditionally…" Katara whispered.

Toph turned back towards Zuko. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Zuko shrugged, starring back at Katara as he leaned on the side of her doorframe.

"I'm done here. Let's go Sparks-a-lot." Toph walked out of the room, now headed towards Aang's door.

Zuko took one last look at Katara, and left, following the earthbender. If he had stayed a while longer, he would have heard the words he'd been dying to hear from the girl he'd been dying to hear them from.

__

"Hey Twinkletoes," Toph said cheerfully as she snuck through the threshold. Zuko followed seconds after, and leaned against the doorframe once more, the flame in his palm. It was no surprise to the firebender that the Avatar smiled in his sound sleep.

Toph dropped to the floor beside Aang, who was resting against Appa's soft fur. Aang's room only had three walls, the fourth instead a large opening that would let in sunlight each morning and allowed the moon to shine each night. The perfect room for the kid who was upheld a cheery attitude.

"Do you still have feelings for Katara, Twinkletoes?" Toph asked lightly as she leaned against Appa as well. The earthbender rubbed his stomach, and the skybison yawned in reply.

Zuko's eyes lit in surprise, and muttered, "That was direct."

Toph ignored the comment and waited for Aang's reply. His words were quick slurred compared to Katara's slow mumbles, as if he'd just gulped down a cup of cactus juice.

"We're just frriiends now. She doesn't, doesn't feel the same way."

Toph frowned, not getting the answer she wanted.

"But do you still feel that way, Airhead? Are you still crushing on Sugar Queen?" The earthbender was getting impatient, but Zuko stayed where he was, interested.

"My heart's healed…I'vvve opened my eyes to whaaat I couldn't see before."

"Why does everyone have to be so cryptic?" Toph sighed, out of questions to ask.

"What was it that you liked about Katara so much?" It was Zuko that asked this, surprising Toph. _She_ didn't want to hear this answer to _this_.

"She always believed in me, no matt—matter how badly I screwed up, she always believed in me."

"Hm…" was all Zuko said, and he turned towards Katara's room, his back at Toph.

"Who are you looking for Aang? _What _are you looking for?"

Zuko was surprised Toph cared to much about Aang's opinion of her, but said nothing, instead focusing on the rise and fall of Katara's chest as she slept. It soothed him, and he smiled, happy for once.

"Not much…Just…*yawn*"

"Ya, wonderful timing Twinkletoes. Yawn on your own time."

"Love…" he finished. "That's all I ask for."

Toph starred in Aang's general direction, almost shocked, not knowing what to say. So she joked around instead.

"Say 'unconditional' and I'll hit you so hard…"

Zuko laughed, and turned back towards the two benders.

Aang shrugged and turned in his sleep, now facing Toph. "What do yo--you look for?"

Toph had never been asked a question from a sleep talker before; it was always she asking the questions. But regardless, she answered honestly.

"Someone who's happy to see me every morning, and someone who's vibrations I'm happy to feel until the second I fall asleep. Someone I know cares about me in the way my parent's didn't." Toph closed her useless eyes, fighting tears.

Zuko starred at Toph, wanting to go and calm her, when he saw Aang's eyes open. The Avatar's glance was directed towards Zuko for a split second, and then his eyes rested back on Toph. Still using his sleepy slur, he whispered, "How do you kn—know someone doesn't already feel that yo-you?" Aang glanced back at Zuko. "Ma—maybe you're blinder than you think."

"Hmph," was Toph's only reply, and she pushed off Appa and walked past Zuko without another word. The scarred prince stayed, he still had some questions to ask.

"How long were you awake?" he said as he walked toward Aang, who rested on his back, his hands now supporting his head.

"Long enough to give Toph the answers I wanted her to hear; short enough that I didn't hear anything you wouldn't have wanted me to." Aang shrugged and closed his eyes, ending the conversation. Zuko shrugged as well, and walked out, going to try and find Toph.

He found her in Sokka and Suki's room, her mood obviously changed as she tried to stop her own laughter. She sensed Zuko's vibrations and waved him over, whispering, "This is where the real fun begins."

"Sokka…" she whispered, in a ghostly voice much unlike her own.

"Hm…" the warrior mumbled in reply.

"Appa ate all the food. We're out of meat…"

"Nooo…." Sokka slowly groaned, tossing in his sleep. "Spit it out Appa. Now…"

Zuko snickered, and kneeled beside Toph, coming up with ideas of his own.

"Suki's found someone else Sokka. She must have fallen for Haru's mustache because now he's all she can think about."

Sokka frowned, and growled, "Must…shave off…stache."

"You're learning quickly, Sparky," Toph whispered, smiling as she made her way towards Suki.

"I'm learning from the master," he replied.

"What would happen if Sokka left you Suki? Who would you go to then? What if you lost him to a mooselion steak?"

Zuko snickered, and watched as a frown formed on Suki's face.

"Don't his constant jokes annoy you? His low attention span? How he has his eyes on you one minute and then a seafood platter the next?"

The two continued, watching Suki's reactions as she squirmed in obvious discomfort.

Toph suddenly yawned, and Zuko knew it was time to get her to bed. She already wasn't a morning person, but when she didn't get a good night's sleep… Toph was more irritable than usual.

"Time for bed Bandit."

"Two more," she said, and then yawned again. "Okay, fine," she said when she felt Zuko's gaze on her. "_One_ more."

An idea popped in her head, and Toph had to stop herself from laughing. She kneeled down towards Suki, and whispered in her ear.

"Sokka's cheating on you Suki. He's in love with…" Toph had to pull away and cover her mouth to conceal the round of giggles that was trying to escape her lips. Zuko kneeled down and finished for her. "Ty Lee."

Suki frowned, and growled, "That circus freak is mine."

__

**The Next Morning**

Zuko had fallen asleep directly under the window of Toph's room, and felt the sun's rays heat him up as he awake from his too short slumber. He stretched, knowing Toph was right; firebenders did rise with the sun.

Toph stomach growled, and Zuko smiled. He tickled her, trying to get her wake up, and the young earthbender started to laugh, swatting her hands at his as she tried to roll away.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up."

"Let's get some food in you. Your stomach was growling so loudly I thought an earthquake was striking," Zuko teased as he helped Toph up.

"Haha, very funny. Come on, let's see what our nightly stroll did to everyone."

Both benders walked into the temple's atrium, glad to see that everyone was there. Almost everyone; Suki and Sokka walked in a second later, arguing.

"You like her, don't you? When we were at the Boiling Rock, you weren't concentrating on your own fight with Azula, you were focusing on that circus freak!"

"I was not!" Sokka yelled back, continuing the argument. "I was starring at _you_. But I guess that doesn't matter, seeing as you'd rather be with Haru and his mustache than me and boomerang. You know, some people appreciate my boomerang, it always comes back, unlike _someone_, who would probably leave in an instant if she had the chance."

"Don't you even think that I'm not considering it," Suki retorted. "I'd rather be back at Boiling Rock, at least there I could see Ty Lee getting stabbed in the back by her best friend; I know the feeling."

The quarreling couple sat down, farther away from each other than usual, completing the circle the gang subconsciously created during meals. Katara walked around, handing out bowls of porridge, and blushed when her hands brushed against Zuko's as she handed him a bowl. Toph smiled, and Katara continued around the circle until everyone was fed.

"Everyone sleep well?" Toph asked, the smile still on her face. She directed her gaze towards Aang, who blushed and focused on his breakfast. Toph made note of his vibrations, then turned towards Suki and Sokka. Both had their arms crossed, angry as ever, backs to each other. "Katara?" the earthbender asked, knowing no one else would answer.

"Fine, thanks. Although I had the strangest feeling I had been watched as I slept." Katara shrugged, not noticing that Zuko now also took a sudden interest in his bowl. "I guess its just paranoia."

"Hm… Paranoia…" Toph said, nodding as she slyly nudged Zuko in the arm. "And you, Twinkletoes?"

Aang shoved a spoonful of porridge in his mouth as soon as Katara stopped talking, expecting he was next. The Avatar knew that if he said anything, or wasn't careful, Toph would read his vibrations and know he had been awake for a duration of her visit last night. He mumbled something incohesive, and Toph just smiled, returning to her meal.

"What's with the good mood, Toph? You're never this happy this early," Katara pointed out, noticing Aang's discomfort.

"Oh, its nothing," Toph said, playing with her armband. "Just a goodnight's sleep. It does one good, doesn't it Sparky."

Zuko shrugged indifferently, returning to his meal. Katara looked his way, and their eyes met. At the same instant both benders turned away, blushing, and Toph took note of this for later teasing.

"And you two," Katara said, when Suki and Sokka started arguing again. "What in the world is wrong with you?"

"Bad night," both of them muttered, their backs to one another.

"Fine, get over it. This is a wonderful day and the last thing we need is your sour moods ruining it." Katara walked around the circle once more, collecting empty bowls. Zuko stood up and did the same, completing the circle in the opposite direction, until the two met at Toph.

"Let me help you," Zuko muttered, talking the bowls in Katara's hands without making eye contact.

"Thanks," Katara said, blushing once more as their fingers touched. She saw Toph glancing in her general direction, and smirked, remembering their conversation from yesterday. The waterbender was tempted to whisper, "Mine," but thought of it as immature, probably something Toph would say. Instead she shrugged and followed Zuko to the fountain where they did their dishes.

Toph stood up and brushed herself off, then walked over to Aang and dragged him by the back of the collar to the other end of the large room.

"Bending practice Twinkletoes. We didn't get much practice yesterday."

The two younger benders began their usual warm up exercises, and Toph perked her ears, listening for bits and pieces of the conversation Zuko and Katara were having at the other end of the room.

"I just don't find it fair for you to have to do everything around here," Zuko explained when Katara asked him why he was being so helpful.

"Fine," she responded calmly. "I rinse, you dry." She handed the firebender a dishrag, and the two began their work.

"I agree with Toph, you know," Zuko said after they finished a few dishes, setting the dry ones on another rag on the floor.

Katara turned towards him, stopping the dishes that she was rinsing in midair. "What about?"

"That you…that you might have feelings for me," he said softly, but Katara still heard him. She handed him another dish, and continued to wash without replying.

"Well?" Zuko asked, almost impatiently. But he was careful to keep his calm, especially with Katara waterbending; she'd strike him with a waterwhip if she found it was needed.

"Well what?" she replied, without looking back. She used her bending to send him the next bowl, and he continued to dry.

"Do you…have feelings for me?"

Katara finished washing the last bowl, and slowly turned around, the bowl held in her hands. She handed it to Zuko, but didn't let go, instead enjoying the warmth of his fingertips against hers. She looked up and smiled, then picked up the dry dishes and walked back near the fire.

Toph smiled to herself, proud of Zuko's forwardness, and turned back towards Aang.

"Enough with the warm up, Airhead. Let's see if you can knock the world's greatest earthbender down."

"I doubt it," the Avatar said, his perpetual smile on his face as he took an offensive stance. But instead of attacking, he spun on his feet, falling into the marble earth below.

"Wonderful. Twinkletoes! Get your giant air head back up here!"

Aang popped back up behind her, and wrapped his arms around Toph's neck in an awkward hug. Toph jumped in surprise—and it was practically impossible to surprise Toph Bei Fong—and the two fell backwards, Toph falling atop Aang.

Instead of picking herself up, she rested her head on Aang's chest, and he stroked her long hair, of which had fallen out of its usual bun. Toph blushed, surprised with herself, and pushed herself upward to stand upright. Aang stood up as well, blushing and embarrassed with himself. But that didn't stop him from using one of Toph's own tricks against her.

The Avatar stepped forward, and mustering up all the courage he could, quickly pecked Toph on the cheek, afraid of the consequences of his boldness. Then, remembering the words Toph had said to him days before, whispered, "Me…you…us. It could happen."

Still blushing, the Avatar walked away, leaving a very much shell-shocked earthbender on one end of the room. On the other, a confused firebender. Neither of their questions answered.

------

A/N: i like this chapter a lot. Midnight Mehem, Morning Madness, & Unanswered Questions. Way too long of a title, but i couldnt pick just one. Anyway, this might just be my longest chapter, it was 10 pages in word, but i thought you guys deserved it because i've neglected this story a bit to work on my vids and atla 100 prompt thingie. so anyway, i hope you like it!! leme no, i dont hear from enough of you anymore!!


	14. Head Aching Mind Games

**Chapter 14: Head Aching Mind Games**

It was Toph that snapped out of her daze first. She shook her head, trying to cancel the image of the kiss that was replaying in her mind, and walked over to Zuko, shocked himself. Only his thoughts were completely wrapped around Katara, while Toph was trying not to think of Aang.

"Did you—"

"See what just happened? Yah, didn't think Aang had it in him though."

"And did—"

"Katara just say what you think she said? Since when do you ever hear incorrectly?"

Toph sat down on the edge of the fountain Zuko and Katara had just washed dishes in, her mind a muddled mess.

"This was supposed to be _our_ game, and now they've turned the tables," Toph said, trying to clear her mind.

Zuko sat down beside her, the conversation he had just moments before with Katara permanently planted in his mind.

"Maybe not," Zuko said, remembering his uncle. "My Uncle loved playing Pi Sho, and he's tried to get me to play, unsuccessfully, much too often. But I did learn something from him…" Zuko paused, trying to conjure his uncle's advice.

"Get to the point Sparky. And please spare me from the Iroh voice, I'm not in the mood for dying of laughter."

"A player is only good as the game itself. There are rules for a reason, and that reason is to break them."

Toph snorted. "That isn't advice from Tearoh and you know it."

Zuko smiled, more at Toph's snort than her words. It was…endearing.

"Fine, his actual advice was, 'Play the game as a lotus would. Slow and steady in the breeze, attracting to the eye of any passerby.' How exactly is that helpful? Besides," Zuko started tickling Toph, smiling as she laughed and snorted. "I thought what I said at first would be better approved by the Runaway."

Toph tried to kick away from Zuko and she began to lean backwards, coming close to the water. Finally foot made contact with hand, but instead of ending Zuko's tickle attack, Toph found herself wet and cold; she had fallen into the fountain.

Now it was Zuko's turn to laugh; he leaned over the edge of the shallow fountain as he looked at a dripping, and pissed, Toph.

"You needed a bath anyway," Zuko said, still smiling. Toph grunted, reached her hand out towards Zuko, and yanked him in with her.

"And your ego needs a good rinse," Toph said as she twisted her fist on Zuko's head. He pushed away, laughing, and the two began to splash one another. Suddenly Suki passed by, stopped at the edge of the fountain, looked at the two and said, "I don't wanna know." The two soaked benders cracked up laughing as she stormed past, Sokka racing after her as he tried to apologize, yet again, for that morning's fight.

Zuko, still smiling, pushed himself up, then pulled Toph out of the water. He grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her completely out until her feet hit the temple's marble floor. Toph waited until he too was out of the fountain, and Zuko used his firebending to heat himself off. Of course Toph would choose that moment to shake herself off, the water hitting Zuko once more.

"Wonderful," he sighed as he stared at his dripping clothes. Again he used his firebending, first on Toph so she couldn't drench him again, then himself. Then Zuko grabbed her hand and pulled her towards Appa's stable, where they could talk in private.

But before Zuko could say a word, Toph spoke up. The young earthbender plopped down on the pile of hay Appa _wasn't_ chewing, and put her hands behind her head. "You need to make a move on Sweetness, Sparky."

"What!?" Zuko was pacing the marble room, trying to organize his thoughts. "Isn't that what we've been doing for the past few days?"

Toph plucked a small hay thread from the stack and stuck it in her mouth, moving back and forth as she thought.

"We've been playing around too long," she said, as she placed her right hand back behind her head. Zuko sighed, then came and sat along side her, crossing his arms across his chest as he lied back against the hay. Appa, lying on his back across the stable, groaned in protest as the two benders relaxed on his lunch.

"We need to show them that we're serious," she continued. "Well…that you're serious."

Zuko rolled on his side so he could look at Toph, but she seemed to be lost in thought.

"So Aang is just a game to you then? I heard what you said to Katara, Toph. About her hurting Aang; that you would hate to see her do that to me. But it's alright when you do it to Aang?"

Toph didn't retort; the only movement was the back and forth swing of the blade of hay in her mouth.

"What is it Toph? Are you afraid to show you're true feelings? I think we've had this conversation before, only it was about Sokka." Zuko pushed himself upright, so he stood facing Toph as she sat. "Is that it then?" he asked when Toph rolled so her back faced him. "You still have feelings for Sokka? I thought we--"

"Shut it Sparky!" Toph yelled in a scratchy voice; tears of frustration brimmed her eyes. "Did it ever cross your mind that I might be doing Twinkletoes a favor by backing off? That maybe I don't want to hurt him?"

Zuko was taken aback, but he moved towards his friend. Toph bent a marble wall in front of him when he reached his hand out towards her, and a fight he had once had with Mai at Ember Island flashed through his mind. He knew he would need to give Toph time, so with a sigh the ex-prince left the stable to walk the temple grounds.

Toph rested silently, pushing away her tears with the back of her hand as they fell. She didn't want to think, she didn't want to have to worry about apologizing to Zuko later; not that she would, she still had a reputation to keep up. All Toph wanted was to sleep. And so she did.

---

Zuko replayed the memories he had of Katara and he together; their fights, conversations, and—with only regrets on his mind—their time under Ba Sing Se. He had seen her grow both physically and mentally; bending battles against her became harder as time passed. He remembered Jun's teasing, and wondered if she had been right. Perhaps it was inevitable that they would eventually be together.

And then he thought of Mai.

He didn't harbor any feelings for her, but Zuko still felt guilty. He left Mai not once, but twice; first breaking up with her through a note he regretting ever writing, and then fighting for her life—against Azula, none the less. And Zuko wasn't sure if he was worried or scared, if he wanted to see her or not.

Both girls' faces appeared in his mind, and he couldn't help but compare the two. Katara held more of an outer beauty, but the fact that Mai didn't show off her natural features made her stand out even more. Both had their strengths in a fight; Katara with her waterbending and Mai with her weaponry. Mai understood Zuko better, and they had a history, knowing each other as kids. But Katara changed Zuko for the better, without even realizing it he had changed in the past few weeks from the spoiled prince he had once been to a runaway trying to do what was right; for once not in his best interest but in the interest of the world.

So what would he do if he ever saw Mai again? And should he act upon his feelings for Katara?

Zuko shook his head, trying not to worry over so many questions, and decided to go back to Toph and make sure she was all right. Knowing her she would pretend that the fight never had even happened.

---

The sun was beginning to slowly set now; Toph could tell by the decreasing heat in the marble floor as she walked along the halls of the Air Temple. She continued until she reached the corner before Aang's room, and there she stood as she argued with herself.

"Don't be as sissy as Sokka is," she thought, urging herself to turn the corner.

"This could have its consequences," another voice in her head told her, and this was the one she pushed aside. The young earthbender walked forward, and stepped into the temple's brightest room. Of course it would be, it didn't have a forth wall, and shadows were now forming as the sun set.

"Toph?" Aang stood up from his meditation, as Toph walked in almost zombie-like; she was staring at her feet, her usual smile missing from her face. "Is something wrong?"

Toph looked up, and felt the vibrations that always reminded her she had something, someone to live for. When she was just a foot from Aang, she leaped forward, causing him to catch her in his arms. But that wasn't what had surprised Aang, not in the least. Toph wrapped her arms around the Avatar's neck, and with only a second's hesitation, kissed him. Aang, surprised, could do nothing but kiss her back, a smile forming on both their faces as they pulled away.

"Toph?" The earthbender pushed away from Aang and turned towards the voice at the doorway, realizing a now hurt Sokka had watched the whole thing. "How…?"

"Sokka, I…" she began, but Aang grabbed her hand before she could walk forward and confront her friend. The Avatar looked at her with passion in his eyes; not that she could see it, but she could feel his heartbeat's fluttering pattern. "I…"

Tears brimmed her eyes, and the earthbender realized she had walked into a living nightmare.

---

Close, but not quite.

"Shh, Toph, its alright. It was just a nightmare." Zuko spoke softly as Toph opened her eyes, and before she knew what she was doing she pushed herself into his arms, tears spilling down her face.

Zuko stood frozen in shock, surprised by Toph's uncharacteristic behavior. But after a few seconds he brushed her back, as a brother would to comfort a younger sister.

Toph couldn't believe her behavior, and when she realized what she had done, she pulled away quickly. "Yah, that didn't…" She sniffled, and then shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. "Where'd you run off to Sparky?"

"Just thought I'd give you some time to yourself…obviously not the brightest of ideas," the firebender said as he sat crossed legged beside Toph.

"Do you want to…talk about it?" Zuko asked awkwardly, but Toph just shook her head.

"I know Sokka has Suki now," she said quietly, more talking to herself than to Zuko. "I realize he's never seen me as anything but a kid sister, and I'm over it now. So why do I care? I don't." But Toph only sounded like she was trying to convince herself of something besides the truth.

Zuko didn't say anything; he wasn't sure what to say. He just sat quietly and listened; putting his hand atop Toph's as a sign he was paying attention. For her it was comfort.

"I don't love Sokka, I don't even love Aang. I don't want to hurt either of them, and I don't want to fall into this mess of emotions." Toph pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them, thinking things over. "But I don't want to keep wondering and dreaming either."

And with that, and nothing more, she stood up and left Zuko to consider her words, most of which made no sense to him at all.

"Wondering and dreaming…" he whispered, and then he realized Toph's plans. And when the scarred prince knew the earthbender was doing what he needed to do as well, he stood up and left the room, off to find Katara.

Zuko walked through the Air Temple, trying to find the usually busy waterbender, but she was nowhere to be found. Just as Zuko was about to give up, he stumbled across her in one of the temple's gardens. He walked forward, about to confess everything, when he saw that Katara had company; she and Haru were laughing amongst the flowers, and Katara looked, as she rarely did, happy. Zuko sighed and walked towards the temple's main room, where he heard Sokka yelling.

"It's a trap! It has to be."

"Sokka, just give them a chance to talk. Zuko told us what happened."

"Yah, and he also said that _she_ was fighting along side Azula. For all we know they could both be working on her orders, tricking us into defeat. Think about this Twinkletoes!"

"Aw, what a cute name. Twinkletoes. Hehe."

Zuko recognized that laugh before he even reached the room. But when he did, he was still just as surprised to see Mai and Ty Lee standing there; Ty Lee of course bent over backwards—literally—and Mai with her hands crossed. No one had turned towards him yet.

"You can tell if you're being lied to, Toph. You knew I wasn't, and now look where we are." Everyone in the room turned towards Zuko, with the exception of Mai, who only frowned in reply. Zuko walked to Toph's side, where Aang, Sokka, and Suki stood behind her.

"Azula didn't send us!" Ty Lee said as she turned on her feet. "Oh, hi Zuko," she said with a sad smile.

"She's not lying," Toph said with a sigh. It was obvious that whatever her plans were, they hadn't gone through because of the gang's newest problems. "But that doesn't mean Azula didn't tell someone else to send them. For all we know, they could have been released from the Boiling Rock as a trick, so they thought they were coming here on their own accord."

Aang nodded in agreement, stepping forward. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"We're sure," Mai finally spoke, a hint of anger in her voice. Zuko almost flinched, knowing her current emotions were aimed at him.

"What's going on?" Katara walked in from the direction Zuko had entered, Haru, Teo, and The Duke trailing after. The waterbender walked up to the others and stood beside Zuko, waiting for an answer. She didn't even give him a chance, once she saw Mai. Both girls scowled at one another, and then Katara turned back to Zuko.

"Did you lead them here?"

Zuko felt like slamming his head against a wall (of course Toph would provide it in a heartbeat if it weren't for the current situation.

"Save it Sweetness," Toph sighed. "Let's figure this out."

Zuko looked from Haru, who was eying Ty Lee and Mai, to Katara, and hoped that what his reaction before was just paranoia. As if reading his mind, Toph nudged him, and he refocused his thoughts to the situation at hand.

"If we send them away," Aang and Toph both started, causing the two younger benders to blush. Toph let Aang continue. "If we send them away, they could just end up back with Azula."

"No," Zuko said, shaking his head. "She'll kill them first. I know Azula, she's not one for second chances. Keeping them alive was merciful, on her part."

"Then what do you propose?" Suki asked, and everyone looked up at him. Zuko knew that if he said what he was thinking, to let both girls stay with them while the gang kept a close eye on the two, he would be accused of working with them for Azula.

"I'm not sure…" he lied. "I just know that if you hadn't given me a second chance, I'd have gone back to the Fire Nation eventually."

Zuko didn't say that he would have gone searching for his Uncle, but Toph understood, and she brushed her hand against his.

"Sparky's right. We gave him a second chance, and we haven't even give those two a first chance yet. We'll just watch out for any tricks Needles or Pins have planned," to this Zuko laughed, remembering one of their first nightly conversations, "and we might be making out enemies into allies."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Aang sighed in disbelief, then looked into the eyes of his friends around him, who looked as though they agreed with Toph.

"Katara and Suki will help you find some empty rooms. Dinner is in an hour," Aang said, then walked off with Zuko and Toph behind him.

"I'm not sure about this," the Avatar said, and Toph put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "We'll keep our eyes open."

Aang nodded, and eyed Zuko as the three continued to the area they used for practice. "You know them best, what do you think?"

Zuko shrugged, and then sighed, almost frustrated. He pinched the cliff of his nose, trying to will away a headache. "Mai was never happy following Azula's orders, and if Ty Lee wasn't, she never showed it. Either way, they feared her more than anything, but my sister is slowly losing her power. She let you guys get away after the invasion, I left, and now these two. No, I don't think we have to worry about them too much."

Aang nodded, and the three stopped at the practice grounds.

"Warm ups first," Zuko said when Aang got into a defensive stance. He always preferred to go straight into the fight, Toph was the same as well; they were both impatient.

"Twenty-five fire pushes and twenty hot squats," Zuko said as he sat down to work on his breezing exercises. Aang started on his fire pushes, using the flames from his breath to do push ups.

Toph sat beside Zuko, a bit bored. Instead of her own exercises, she decided to have a little fun.

Toph stood up and positioned herself facing Aang, then began to bend small marble slabs into the air. One by one she sent them Aang's way, who, without even looking up or stopping his fire pushes, bent them back towards Toph with a flick of the wrist. Of course that would be an easy attack for Toph to invade, except with another flick Aang bent two of the slabs to cover her hands and had the marble beneath her cover her feet, making it difficult to bend.

"What they?!"

"Twenty-four, twenty-five. Let's battle now!"

"Ugh." Toph spun on her heals, and the marble that covered her, turned to earth needles aimed towards Aang, who bent a large wall of earth to appear in front of him.

Without opening his eyes or losing concentration of his breathing, Zuko said, "Twenty hot squats. Then a battle." The meditation was supposed to relive his stress, but he doubted anything could at this point.

The younger two benders groaned, causing Zuko to smile ever so slightly. Aang went back to his exercises, and Toph plopped down beside the ex-prince.

"Joykill."

"Troublesome badgermole."

"Stubborn emo dragon kid."

Zuko snorted at that last one, then stood up and reached a hand down to Toph, who instead used her bending to push her up. Aang finished the last of his hot squats, and the three took defensive stances.

"No waterbending, since Sweetness isn't here," Toph said.

"And try to focus on using our elements against us. The Ozai will only being using fire, an advantage to you, but you'll have to learn to dodge or redirect everything he throws at you."

"Alright! Can we just bend now?"

Toph laughed at Aang's impatience, one that matched her own, but before she could throw the first attack, Mai walked in.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked in her low drawl, and Aang just shrugged.

"Sure."

The four stood across from one another, each in their defensive stances. Toph attacked first.

Toph moved her right leg in front of her left, then swept it across the ground. Her right foot faced the west, and Toph quickly pulled it behind her as she spun on her feet, causing a whirlwind of pebbles to spin around her. With one quick motion of her hand, the whirlwind picked up speed and continued forward without her, aimed directly towards Aang.

The Avatar created his own miniature tornado, and the two hit, causing wind and rock to fly in all directions. Zuko and Mai both rolled away, and Zuko sent fireballs towards both Aang and Toph, ignoring Mai's presence purposely.

Aang used his firebending to redirect the fireball's direction towards Zuko, pushing it towards his firebending master with twice the original power. Toph dodged by dropping underground, and when she popped back up she was standing behind Mai.

"Hey there, Needles," she said, and then Toph stomped her right foot down, causing two fist-sized boulders to float up and cover Mai's hands.

Mai hissed in reply, and then swung her arms around, breaking the boulders against a nearby pillar. Mai smirked, then sent her blades in Toph's direction.

The earthbender pushed up a marble wall in front of her for protection, and the daggers hit the wall, all with the exception of one, which grazed Toph's shoulder. The younger bender hissed in pain, and grabbed her shoulder, feeling blood.

"Here we go," Zuko muttered, remembering Toph's battle with Katara only day's ago. This would be much the same, and he knew better than getting involved, instead going to stand beside Aang.

Both girls threw attack after attack, both easily dodging. Toph spoke first.

"So, why is it that you came to find us? You just want to see Sparky again? Couldn't get over him, now could you?"

A snarl formed on Mai's face, but she said nothing as she threw another dagger at Toph, who rolled away.

"Someone needs to learn to control their anger," Toph said with a teasing smile, sending a few small boulders Mai's way.

"And someone needs to learn to control their mouth," Mai muttered, pulling out a few needles from beneath her sleeves.

Toph bent some of the marble floor into sharp needles, and they floated at shoulder's length, ready to fly.

"Stop!" Aang yelled, but that only caused the girls' attacks to be aimed towards him and Zuko. Mai's needles hit the edges of Zuko's shirt, pinning him to the pillar behind him, Toph's sharp marble doing the same to Aang.

Mai had to fight away a smile, and while passing Zuko on her way out, pulled out one of her needles that kept him on the pillar. She checked the tip to see if the marble weakened it, and then quickly punched it back into the spot it was before, causing Zuko to flinch. With that she walked off, back towards the rooms.

"Have fun hanging around Twinkletoes," Toph said as she walked off in the opposite direction.

"Girls," the Avatar muttered, trying to focus on his bending to shoot the marble needles backwards.

All Zuko could do was bang the back of his head against the pillar behind him.

---

"I knew we said we were going to make a mess of this place…"

"But this is ridiculous."

Everyone was eating dinner now, but the setting was more awkward then usual. Aang took a place beside Toph, who smirked slightly as the Avatar sat beside her, with Zuko at her left. An empty seat was beside Zuko, most likely where Katara would sit after she finished passing out dinner. And beside that empty space, Mai sat, a frown, as usual, on her face. Beside her was Ty Lee, who was chatting quickly with Sokka, telling him of their escape from the Boiling Rock. And of course Suki wasn't happy about that at all.

Katara passed out bowls of rice, reaching Mai last. Both girls scowled at one another, and Katara took her seat beside Zuko, who fidgeted awkwardly.

"We're running out of food," Katara told Aang, who nodded. "Zuko and Toph always know the best places to look, I'll go with them and we'll see what we can find."

"Oh! Can we go, too?" Ty Lee asked, a smile on her face. Aang smiled lightly in return. "Zuko, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai, and I then."

Katara said nothing, and instead the rice in her bowl back and forth, but Toph could tell she was uncomfortable with this set up.

Everyone finished eating, and Sokka decided to end the night with stories from their travels.

"Oh! Oh! Tell the one where you two found Aang again," The Duke said, smiling.

"The one where you guys find me is more interesting," Toph muttered, causing Aang to laugh.

"Well, Katara and I had gone off fishing," Sokka started, and told the story with so much detail that he had put the youngest of the group to sleep, including Toph, who had her head resting against Aang's shoulder. The Avatar smiled at this, and carefully picked his friend up to carry her to her room. Zuko followed after them.

"I'm still not sure about this," Aang muttered as they passed the other rooms. Zuko nodded in agreement.

"We'll try to learn what we can tomorrow," Zuko said. And Aang groaned.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Zuko snickered, and the two boys passed the threshold into the room Zuko and Toph now shared. Aang set Toph down in her usual spot, and Zuko leaned against the doorframe, expecting Aang wanted the slightest bit of privacy with Toph. The ex-prince was right; Aang leaned down and kissed Toph on the forehead, whispered, "Good night, Blind Bandit," and left the room without looking up at Zuko.

As soon as Aang was gone, Toph's eyes flashed opened, and Zuko wasn't the least bit surprised that she faked it. It seemed Toph and Aang had more in common than they thought.

Zuko took his spot beside Toph, their backs against the wall.

"Learn anything?" he asked.

"More than you think," was her only reply as she cracked her knuckles. Zuko hated the sound, but tried not to show it, knowing that's why she did it in the first place.

"So you get to spend the whole day with Mai tomorrow. This should be fun."

Zuko groaned, hoping Toph wouldn't bring it up. She continued anyway, making things worse as they went.

"Having Needles here is going to mess up your chances with Ice Queen, you know."

"Bed. Now."

Toph laughed, and rested against the marble floor. Zuko got up and put a blanket around the earthbender, who, two seconds later, kicked it away. Zuko sighed, knowing he should have expected as much, and walked towards the doorway.

"You think I don't know where you're going?"

"Bed."

"Hmph."

Zuko walked down the hall and passed a few rooms until he found the one he was looking for. He leaned himself against the door's frame, and the room's occupant looked up at the ex-prince.

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Why are you here?"


	15. Complicated Conversations

**Chapter 15: Complicated Conversations**

"Why are you here?"

Mai stood up, walked over to Zuko, and leaned against the opposite doorframe. She crossed her arms, never meeting his eye contact.

"We already told you, Zuko…" Mai replied in her long drawl, her voice almost making Zuko flinch.

"No. You didn't." Who knew such few words could be said so harshly.

Mai shrugged, starring into a spot on the floor so hard that a black hole could erupt from it at any second just from her gaze.

"Don't make things more complicated than they already am," Zuko practically hissed through his teeth. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here…" Mai whispered, choosing her words. She looked up at Zuko, their eyes meeting for the first time since Boiling Rock. "I'm here for you."

Zuko controlled his reaction; his facial expression didn't change, he didn't blink. He waited for Mai to continue, a thousand questions spilling into his mind.

"My uncle let Ty Lee and I out of prison as soon as Azula lifted off. It was foolish of her to leave him in power. I think…she's slipping." There was still no emotion in Mai's voice, but that was nearly the most Zuko had ever heard from her at once.

_The last time was at Ember Island_, he thought, remembering her yelling as he watching her anger rise through the fire.

"…Didn't know where else to go," Mai sighed, and Zuko realized he'd zoned out. His eyes dropped to the floor again, and he tried to control his anger.

"You didn't have to come here. You didn't have to cause more problems." Zuko sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he always did when he was frustrated.

Mai folded her arms over her chest. "So I'm a problem then?" Her anger matched Zuko's.

Zuko didn't answer, because he honestly didn't _have_ an answer. Not one that wouldn't enrage her even more, that is. He looked into her room and out, hoping the stars would calm him. Not a single star was shining.

"You don't want me here," Mai whispered. It wasn't a question, but a straight out statement. Still Zuko didn't reply.

"Then tell me to leave," Mai leaned forward, hardly any space now between her and Zuko. His muscles tensed beneath her touch, their lashes almost touching.

"You can't, can you?" she breathed. Zuko could feel the heat of her breath, and kept his mouth shut. If she leaned any closer towards him their lips would brush against one another.

"That's all I needed to know." Zuko could almost imagine a smile forming on her lips, but of course no such thing happened.

"Forget it," Zuko sighed, pushing away from the doorframe as he walked towards the empty hallway.

"About Boiling Rock," Zuko muttered, stopping in his tracks but not turning back.

Mai looked up, not knowing what to expect.

"It doesn't change anything," he almost whispered, and continued walking on. He could practically see the snarl written on Mai's face.

Zuko turned the corner that would take him to hallway where the room he and Toph shared was, but before he did he said in a clear voice, "Enjoy the show, Bandit?"

Toph came out of the darkness, a smile on her face. Only Zuko knew her well enough to expect her to be eavesdropping.

"Doesn't exactly earn an encore, Sparky. Come on, let's go."

The two returned to their room, and rested their backs against the wall under the window, as they always did each night.

"What are you going to do?" Toph asked, crossing her arms behind her head as she leaned backwards.

Zuko shook his head, forgetting that Toph couldn't see; after a few days he was completely comfortable with Toph's blindness.

"I have no clue," he sighed, starring at his hands. "I suppose you have an idea, otherwise you wouldn't ask."

Toph smiled, and cracked her knuckles in reply. "Of course I do Sparky, you should know better than to even ask."

Zuko looked up at Toph, suddenly wary. "I'm not going to regret asking, am I?"

Toph just laughed as she pushed herself up using her bending, then walked towards the door. When she reached the threshold, she looked back at Zuko and raised a brow, a smile still on her face, and she continued onward. Zuko groaned as he got up and followed.

"Toph!" he whispered as loudly as he could, but the young earthbender just continued forward, towards the temple's main room where the gang had their meals and meetings. She reached one of the marble pillars closer to the abyss, and leaned against it, waiting for Zuko to reach her.

"Toph, what are you?!" Zuko had grabbed Toph by the shoulders, but he never got to finish his sentence; the air had been knocked out of him as Toph earthbended them to the top of the pillar, the two benders standing on a small perch Toph bent from the side of the pillar.

When Zuko opened his mouth to speak once more, Toph slapped her hand across his lips. The firebender didn't realize that Toph's hand had been covered with marble until she pulled away. Now this marble, shaped in a small hand, covered Zuko's mouth perfectly, and all he could do was stare at the young earthbender angrily as she looked out into the room below.

"Getting me up this late is going to mess with my beauty sleep, Mai! Why couldn't we wait until morning?" Ty Lee's chipper tone was mixed with drowsiness as she and Mai entered the room.

"Whatever," Mai sighed, her mind obviously elsewhere. "Let's get this over with."

"They still don't trust us!" Ty Lee said in a sad voice, and Mai whirled around to look at her.

"Of course they don't!" she whispered harshly. "We haven't exactly given them reason to, Ty Lee! We need to earn their trust."

"But if we just told them…"

"We can't!" Mai was practically growling under her breath, and Ty Lee took a step back cautiously. "We didn't believe it ourselves at first, what makes you think that they'll grasp the truth at all?!" Mai sighed, realizing that Ty Lee was on the verge of tears.

"We'll figure this out later," Mai said in a slow whisper as she turned back towards the rooms. "Come on, you're right, you do need your beauty sleep."

Toph almost snorted; Zuko covered her face with his hand, expecting her reaction. But a small squeak was still released, so minute that it was almost impossible to hear.

Almost.

Mai whirled around, looking across the temple for the cause of the noise. She saw nothing, but still knew she'd heard something.

"Let's go Mai," Ty Lee whispered, pulling at Mai's arm. The older girl gave up, and continued out of the room with her friend.

Toph and Zuko waited a minute, both holding their breath. Finally Toph sighed and lowered their marble perch to the ground. Zuko didn't think he would be so happy to rest his feet on the marble floor again.

Toph crossed her arms and raised a brow at Zuko, as if daring him to challenge her instincts.

"How did you—"

"Know something was up? I always know Sparky. Now lets get back to the room, if anything we've proved that this," Toph spread her arms out, indicating the room they were standing in, "isn't exactly a place of privacy."

Zuko nodded, lit a small flame in his palm, and the two started back towards their room. Once they got their Toph stretched out and yawned, folding her arms behind her head as Zuko sat beside her.

"Their playing us," Zuko muttered, trying to figure out what Ty Lee and Mai knew that they didn't.

"No, really Sparky? I thought they were here to enjoy a nice, peaceful game of Pai Sho with us before the comet arrives!"

Zuko rolled his eyes; occasionally Toph's sarcasm could get out of hand. That didn't stop her though.

"What are we missing?" Toph whispered, stroking her finger across the marble floor. Suddenly she tensed.

"What?" Zuko asked as Toph pushed herself up and ran towards the door. He ran after her. "What's wrong?"

"Aang."


	16. Secret Spirits, Tension in Town

**Chapter 16: Secret Spirits, Tension in Town**

Toph ran through the temple's halls, hoping she wouldn't reach Aang's room too late. She needed to talk to him before—

She reached the doorway with labored breaths, Zuko right behind her. But one look into the room told the young earthbender she was too late.

"What's wrong?" Zuko whispered; Katara's room was on the opposite side of Aang's, and he didn't want to startle her.

Zuko looked inside the room and saw Aang's arrows glowing, quickly realizing why Toph had come running. He blinked, expecting something a bit more dramatic, and then stared at Toph, waiting to see her reaction. Her face was full of worry.

Aang was in the Spirit World.

"Toph, what's the problem? Aang's been in the Spirit World before—"

"And each time he's been unable to protect himself because of it. I'm not taking any chances. What ever those old Avatar farts have to tell him, I'll be the first to know." Toph sat against the wall that faced both the doorway and Aang, who was in a meditating position.

"Come on Toph, you're overreacting. Go to bed."

"If there's ever a chance for someone to attack Aang, its while he's in the Spirit World. _You_ go to bed. I'm staying here."

Zuko sighed, Toph was being as stubborn as ever, but he knew she was right. He sat beside her and looked at Aang in wonder, contemplating what the past Avatar's could possibly be telling him at this moment.

_He's been unable to protect himself because of it…_

Toph wasn't part of the group when the others were at the North Pole… When Zuko failed another hopeless attempt to kidnap the Avatar in order to "regain his honor." Zuko sighed to himself, glad Toph didn't know completely of who he was. But that didn't mean she hadn't seen him make mistakes.

The firebender looked at the young girl beside him, whose eyes were already starting to droop. It was probably early morning by now, before the sun had even started to rise. Of course she would be tired.

Zuko couldn't believe how much he had learned to care for the earthbender, how much he had started to trust and love her. Their friendship was built off of _her_ trust of him, when no one else had ever trusted him before.

_Almost no one else._

Mai had trusted him, once. And of course Zuko had messed that up too. He always seemed to mess up the things that meant the most to him. But he would try not to do that now. Not with Toph, not with Katara. Not with trying to make all his wrongs right by joining the group against his father and sister. Not again.

Suddenly Zuko felt a slow vibration on his arm, and realized by the sound of light snoring that Toph had fallen asleep. Zuko almost laughed at the irony. The earthbender had made it her mission to keep Aang safe, and yet she had failed due to sleepiness. So it was Zuko's mission now.

But soon, he too fell asleep. It wasn't until morning, when the first rays of sun hit his face, did Zuko realize this. He awoke with a start, and nudged Toph awake.

Aang was still in the Spirit World.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me."

Toph stood up with a yawn and walked over to where Aang sat, and in a quick movement yelled in his ear, "**Wake up** Twinkletoes!"

Zuko tried not to laugh as he grabbed Toph's wrist and pulled her away, knowing that no matter what she did it would have no effect on Aang's conversation with his past lives. But Zuko pulled too hard and Toph fell against him, straight into his lap.

Of course Katara would choose that moment to walk in. She blushed at what she saw, a frown on her face, but decided to ignore it and focused her attention on Aang instead.

"How long?"

"All night," Zuko said slowly, pushing Toph off of him, who punched him in the shoulder, silently teasing him over his horrible timing.

Zuko and Katara's eyes meet, and both looked away at once. Toph made a mental note of this as she walked back to Aang.

"What do you think they're telling him?"

"We'll know soon enough," Katara said as she watched Aang's tattoo's flicker. He was coming back.

Aang gasped, and Toph almost twitched with worry. Now it was Zuko's turn to make a mental note; Toph always had the opportunity to make fun of her, he would only be paying her back.

Aang blinked his eyes and sighed, realizing where he was. But he was more surprised to see half of his friends around him with relived looks on their faces.

"How long was I—"

"A full night."

Aang nodded and stretched his legs out; they'd been crossed for hours after all. Zuko and Toph sat down, expecting to hear what Aang had learned, and Katara left to start breakfast.

"Well?" Toph asked impatiently.

"I'm not alone," Aang said quietly, not looking up at either of his friends.

Toph and Zuko shared a confused look, but it was Toph who spoke first, her voice full with tease.

"No duh Twinkletoes, we've established that _how_ many times? We're here for you."

Aang almost smiled, but he reminded himself that the matter at hand was a serious one.

"The other Avatar's seem to think that I'm not the only 'master of the four elements;' that I'm not alone as the Avatar."

Zuko laughed, but stopped when he saw that Aang was not kidding.

"That's not possible. Only one Avatar can be on Earth at a time, the others are held in the—"

When Zuko stopped midsentence in thought, Aang nodded, knowing the firebender understood. Toph on the other hand…

"Helloooo. Kinda lost here."

Aang explained. "The pending Avatar is already known before the current Avatar's death. Their spirit resides in the Spirit World—to be surrounded by positive karma—until the previous Avatar dies, and then the spirit takes a physical form on Earth. When I was frozen in the iceberg, my body was useless, even though my mind and spirit were still at work. But because I hadn't been trained as an Avatar, I couldn't free myself. The other spirit was supposed to…relieve me of my duties as Avatar…"

Aang sighed, the released air blowing Toph's hair past her face. She had a lost look on her face, and after a moment she spoke.

"So let me get this straight. There's a spirit, in the Spirit World, that spiritually trained to take over your spirit in our world?!"

"Basically."

"Freaking perfect. Now what?"

Aang stood up, and walked towards the ledge of his room—the far south wall was gone, allowing Appa access in and out. The airbender looked up at the rising sun, thinking.

"I can't fight a spirit. And this one doesn't think I deserve my place as Avatar. Perhaps it's right."

Toph pushed herself up, angry now.

"You've got to be kidding me, Twinkletoes. If there's anyone who's worked harder, anyone who's strived to prove themselves time and time again, it's you. So don't give me that self-pity crap, 'cause I don't wanna hear it."

Aang turned back towards his friend, a sad smile on his face.

"Thanks Toph, but I've let so many people down, by running away and by losing a hundred years of my life. If I'd accepted my role as Avatar, this war may have already been over with. Katara and Sokka's mother would still be alive, Zuko would have his rightful place as Fire Lord, and you'd…"

"…have been stuck at home. Aang, if you hadn't run away, _none_ of us would have ever meet. Sokka and Katara would be catching fish, Zuko would continuously be tormented by Crazula, and I'd be stuck at home practicing elementary bending. You getting stuck in that iceberg happened for a reason."

Zuko nodded, almost surprised by Toph's words. But she was right.

"It was fate, our souls meeting. And I bet its fate that you'll rid of this spirit as well. Did they tell you how?"

Zuko knew the answer by the look on Aang's face. The Avatar shook his head sadly.

"Figures," Toph mumbled, and started to walk out the door. "Come on, let's get breakfast before Sokka's swallowed everything whole."

Aang and Zuko smiled, walking slowly behind Toph until there was a good distance between them.

"She slept in my room?" Aang muttered under his breath.

Zuko nodded in reply, all too well knowing that Toph could hear every word, despite any distance.

"How could you—"

"Bags under her eyes," Aang mumbled. "Toph relatively enjoys her sleep."

Zuko snickered at Aang's understatement, and he could have sworn Toph did as well.

The three finally entered the room; Aang and Toph continuing forward towards the circle the others had formed. Zuko stopped in his tracks.

While waiting for Aang to leave the Spirit World, Zuko had totally forgotten about Mai's presence. It was Ty Lee's chipper voice that reminded him.

"Morning!" she said with a smile from her seat beside Mai, who rolled her eyes. One would think she was used to her friend's constant mood.

"Morning," Aang said politely, and Toph grunted, her usual sleepy greeting. Zuko sat beside her, not saying a word or making eye contact with anyone in the group.

"So I was thinking we should leave immediately after we eat," Aang said.

"For…?" Toph prodded her small portion of porridge as Katara continued to pass out food.

"Our ration hunt?" Mai muttered rudely.

Toph hissed in response, not due to Mai's rudeness, but because of her selection of the word "our." Zuko touched Toph's back lightly, somewhat calming her, and Mai noticed.

Everyone finished off their breakfast in silence, and the others went their separate ways. Soon it was only Toph, Zuko, Aang, Mai, Ty Lee, and Katara left.

"We need these," Katara said, handing Zuko a sheet of papyrus paper. They both pulled back quickly when their hands touched. "Get what you can, and nothing more. And Toph?"

The young earthbender looked up, not knowing what to expect.

"Yes, _mom?_"

Katara smiled. "No cheating cheaters, alright?"

Toph laughed in return. "No promises."

Katara handed Aang a bag that held black, hooded outfits. The two nodded at one another, having a silent conversation, and finally they were ready to go.

"Don't stay out to long! Get what you can and don't get caught!" Katara yelled as the others lifted off on Appa.

"Yes, _mom_," Aang and Toph high-fived one another at their chorused words.

It wasn't long before the kids reached the outskirts of a small town that bordered the Fire Nation. Each put on one of the dark outfits that Katara had provided as Aang hid Appa within a small cave.

"We'll be back soon buddy. Stay quiet, alright?"

Appa moaned in reply. With a last pat Aang left him, and ran to catch up with the others, who had started towards town.

Toph and Aang took the lead, feeling for vibrations to alert them of anyone nearby. Ty Lee waked behind them, beside Mai, and Zuko took the back, watching for anything that didn't belong.

After a while Mai began to slow down, until she was walking alongside Zuko.

"Your protective of her, aren't you?" Mai asked, indicating Toph. Zuko didn't respond.

"Nothing romantic, more…brotherly."

Zuko tried to speed up, but Mai matched his stride.

"Like the little sister you will never have."

Zuko hissed under his breath, failing to control his temper.

"Back off Mai."

"I'm not doing anything wrong Zuko. I'm here to help."

"Prove it," he practically growled.

"Trust me first," she retorted. Both knew the other too well.

"How can I, Mai?!" Zuko whispered harshly, grabbing her arm to stop her. "What incentive have you given me that would make me trust you?"

"I sided against Azula, I saved your life!"

"I told you, what happened at the Boiling Rock changes nothing."

"Let go of me," Mai pulled her arm back and stormed ahead, catching up with Ty Lee. Zuko looked forward, not at the girl that he could have learned to love, but at the he'd learned to trust. Toph's ears twitched slightly, telling the scarred prince she'd been listening.

"Don't be nosey, Bandit," he whispered, knowing she heard him by the smile that formed on her face. She turned her attention towards Aang as if nothing had happened.

"We're getting close," Toph said, stopping the others. "The shops are in the middle of town, so we need to move fast."

"Won't we seem a bit suspicious if we're walking around cloaked?" Ty Lee asked, her usually chipper voice low; she could feel the tension between Zuko and Mai, who were each standing to one side of her.

"We'll split up into groups. Mai and Ty Lee, Zuko, Toph and I."

Zuko shook his head, not trusting the two girls alone.

"I'll go with Mai, you take the others."

Aang nodded, ripping the list in half and giving the other to Zuko as everyone pulled on their hoods. Zuko rushed past the others, walking south, leading him towards the west end of the shops. The others went the opposite way.

"Trust is something you earn," Zuko muttered as Mai caught up to him.

"Then I guess I've never trusted you from the start," Mai said in her low drawl, but Zuko only shrugged and continued forward.

The streets were so crowded that no one seemed to notice them as the two swept from vender to vender, grabbing what they could fit in their bags and moving on before they were seen. It wasn't before long that they had every thing on their list. Without a word Zuko started back towards the rendezvous location, Mai walking a few steps behind.

~~-------~~

Toph was getting close to strangling Ty Lee, _very_ close; the chipper attitude, the dance-like stride, not to mention her not-so-sly flirting with Aang, was driving her insane. Aang was already enough to deal with.

"Oh! That's just gorgeous! You should try it on Aang!" Ty Lee said, skipping ahead as she grabbed as strange, largely brimmed hat and plopped it on Aang's head. Toph grabbed it and returned the hat with a scowl.

"Watch it Pins. You want to get caught?"

"Oh!" Ty Lee gasped, then locked her lips shut with an imaginary key.

"Finally!" Toph sighed, continuing forward as she kept guard. She wasn't the best at shopping.

Aang continued to grab what they needed; a few apples, a small bundle of rice, using his airbending to steal what ever he could fit in his bag. Of course, he felt guilty about this, leaving as many coins as he could somewhere on each stall.

Ty Lee's silence didn't last long. What a surprise.

"You'd grown so much since we first met, Aan—" Ty Lee finished her sentence with a giggle, trying to hide her mistake. She moved a finger up Aang's arm, smiling. Toph didn't like this one bit, and she wasn't good at hiding it.

"Let's move, Needles and Sparks are probably done by now." Toph pushed the other two forward, walking between them.

"You think you can go ahead and find what you can?" Aang asked Ty Lee, who smiled.

"Of course." She ran ahead, oblivious to what Aang had done. He walked along side Toph, their arms brushing against another as he grabbed what he could.

"Jealous?" Aang finally asked, a sly smile on his face.

Toph snorted. "Hardly."

Aang laughed. "I thought the Blind Bandit was a better lair than that," he teased.

Toph smiled as well. "Whatever," she said, punching his shoulder. That was as much as a hug, coming from Toph.

"So I heard you were worried about—"

"Back!" Ty Lee said, popping up out of nowhere. Her hands were full, and she quickly emptied everything into the bag. "Let's go!"

Toph groaned, but the three turned around and headed back towards the cave where Appa was hidden.

"Got everything?" Aang asked, and Zuko nodded in response.

"Good, let's get back then."

"Yah, last thing we need is Sweetness getting frantic," Toph muttered as she bent a pillar to push herself onto Appa's saddle. Zuko, already there, rolled his eyes and helped her sit down.

Mai's face turned into an even meaner snarl at the sight of this and turned away. The others got on as well and were soon off, back towards the temple.

~~-------~~

"Good, this should last us a while," Katara said as she did an inventory on the supplies the others brought in. "I'll start dinner soon."

"Aw come on Katara, we skipped lunch waiting for them to come back! Can't you—Ow!" Sokka picked up the apple and rubbed his head, walking off as he bit into the sweet fruit.

Ty Lee giggled, and Suki growled as she noticed this, making Toph laugh.

Aang and Zuko walked off towards the temple grounds that were still lit by the sun to start practice.

"Warm up," Zuko muttered as he began his own stretches. Toph sat and waited until she could participate herself.

That wasn't until Zuko began his fire-ups, and as usual Toph crawled onto his back as he used the fire of his breath to push himself upwards. Back down, up. Back down, up.

Toph soon got bored, noticing that Zuko struggled no less with his exercises when she "helped" or not. After a while she traced her finger along Zuko's back, still not breaking his concentration. It did result in a reaction from Aang, though.

As soon as the Avatar saw this he began his own fire-ups, thinking he knew what to expect. Toph smiled, jumped off Zuko—who glanced to the side to watch—and began running towards Aang. The earthbender jumped up and landed her feet on Aang's back—careful to miss the burn Azula created—and Aang fell on his stomach with a huff.

"Thanks Toph," he said sarcastically, rubbing his back.

"Don't mention it Twinkletoes. We'll call that today's lesson: expect the unexpected."

Zuko snickered as he pushed himself up, watching the younger benders as Toph helped Aang stand. He knew they felt mutually, and yet all that happened was aimless flirting. The firebender laughed at himself; he was sounding hypocritical.

"Start with Toph today," Zuko said as he walked off towards the main atrium. He had his mind set now, and there was no stopping him. Toph and Aang shrugged and started on new techniques.

Zuko reached the main room, not surprised to see Katara on her knees, bending a pot of soup for dinner. He walked right up to her and did what he knew he'd been stalling to do.

He lifted her up onto her feet and kissed her.

Katara was startled and her eyes fluttered, but she soon sank into the kiss, her eyes drooping. Zuko held her arm, kissing her softly.

Guys are idiots.

Zuko hadn't been expecting it at all; the reaction never crossed his mind. It should have, but he was completely off guard when Katara's fist met his face.

Zuko gasped and touched his cheek, now bruising. He looked up to see tears in Katara's eyes, which she bent away as she stormed off. The firebender cursed under his breath, and turned back towards Toph and Aang.

That's when he saw her; Mai standing there, for once emotion on her face: pure hatred and surprise. She stormed off as well, and Zuko felt like he deserved another slap in the face.

He knew he couldn't leave things at that; chances are if he didn't fix it, Toph would, and that was never a good thing. The ex-prince rushed off towards Katara's room, where he expected her to be.

She wasn't; he found her in his old room instead. Expecting to see her crying, Zuko was again surprised to see that the waterbender was pacing, obviously lost in thought.

She looked up and stood still when she saw him, no emotion on her face.

"Why did you… Couldn't you have… Don't you think…"

He waited, hoping she would actually finish a sentence. Instead she was searching his face.

Katara walked up him until there was little space between them. She slowly lifted her hand and lightly touched the damage she caused.

"I'm sorry, I—"

Zuko touched that hand that was on his face and pulled it away, not letting go. He shook his head, silencing her. Neither of them would need apologies.

Both leaned towards each other, and of course at that moment Sokka popped in.

"Is dinner ready yet?!" he asked, not noticing how quickly Katara and Zuko pulled away from one another.

"No Sokka," Katara sighed and walked out, back towards the main room. Zuko sighed as well, giving up for the day as he headed back towards practice.

There he found Toph and Aang struggling with one another on the floor, obviously wrestling. Zuko stood by and watched, knowing the outcome before it occurred.

Toph rolled atop Aang, who was lying on his stomach, and pinned him down.

"I win!" she said, obviously proud of herself.

"Do you honestly think I'll ever have to wrestle the Fire Lord?" Aang struggled to speak with his face on the marble.

"No, I just wanted to reestablish that the Bandit can kick Avatar butt!"

"Nice…You wanna get off now, Bandit?"

Toph laughed and stood up, but instead of standing himself, Aang reached out his arm and grabbed Toph by the foot, pulling her down as she fell on her back.

"I think I won that one," Aang said, smiling as he stood and watched Toph snarl on the ground.

"Draw," she muttered. She punched Aang in the arm and walked past Zuko. "He's all yours."

The two firebenders started their practice wordlessly, but it was Zuko who broke the silence.

"You like her," he said, throwing flames Aang's way, who caught and extinguished them. He didn't ask this as a question, instead making a statement. The Avatar shrugged in response. Zuko took this as a yes.

"Then why don't you do anything about it? Make a move?"

Another shrug. "It's more fun this way," he said after a while of thought. He concentrated on the words he used and on his bending. "I like seeing how she reacts."

"Almost like a game?" The irony was never ending.

"I suppose…But she started it."

Zuko laughed at this. "Alright, we're done for today. Let's go eat."

The two started walking, and another silence emerged. Now Aang was the first to speak.

"You won't…say anything to her."

"You know Toph."

Aang nodded, now unsure. The two reached the room; everyone had already begun eating. There was more tension in the room than usual the night.

Zuko looked from Mai—who was giving him a dirty look—to Katara—who blushed when their eyes met—and sighed as he sat beside Toph. The earthbender raised her eyebrows, but Zuko ignored her and began eating.

Instead of everyone fighting to speaking over one another, or staying up to tell stories, each member of the gang went off to bed silently. Zuko and Toph reached their room and took their usual spots, but Zuko knew the night wasn't over.

"Alright, what happened Sparky? Skip over something and I'll know."

It was going to be another long night.


	17. Midnight Crisis

**Chapter 17: Confessing Conversations**

"Well?" Toph prompted when Zuko didn't respond. He sighed as he sat beside her and began with what would result in a lot of teasing and surprisingly helpful advice from a 12-year-old.

And he knew she wasn't lying either. If he skipped over a simple detail, or didn't share a hidden opinion, Toph would know. The earthbender could feel it in his heartbeat, hear it in his voice. As always, she'd pull it out of him. She had enough blackmail as it was. So Zuko knew he might as well get it all over with.

"When I saw you and Aang…flirting, I realized that's all we've been doing this whole time…playing around with them. We started this game, and it was continuing to be just that, no one was taking anything seriously. So…"

Toph bolted up right when she felt Zuko's heartbeat speed up.

"No. Freaking. Way. You kissed her? Again?!"

_Only Toph_, Zuko thought. _Only she could guess and be right_.

"I walked right up to her and I kissed her, yes."

"And?"

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "She slapped me."

Toph snorted, and Zuko looked down at her. There it was again; why did that one little sound attract his attention so much? He decided to ignore it and continue.

"That wasn't the worst part…"

"Oh?" Toph said teasingly; Zuko's life stories _always_ got better.

"Mai was there. Watching."

Another snort. "Wow your life is perfect. So what'd ya do, Sparky? Chase after Sweetness or make out with Needles too?"

Toph was enjoying it all way too much. She rolled on the floor, laughing at her own words, her giggles followed by short snorts. Zuko clamped his hand over her mouth, and Toph did what he should have expected she would. She bit him.

"Don't rain on my parade, Princess."

"Ugh!" Zuko pulled back and waved his hand in front of him, trying to distort the pain.

"You going to continue with your fairy tale life story or keeping moaning over the tiny teeth marks in your skin?"

Zuko gave her a harsh look, but sighed and quickly calmed himself. He couldn't get mad with her, not now.

"I chased after Katara," he said simply, starring at the bite marks in his hand. For a short, under grown kid, she had razor sharp teeth.

"And how'd that work out for ya?"

"She apologized for slapping me, and we were about to kiss again when—"

"Lemme guess. Snoozles walked in with a growling stomach?"

"How did you—"

"He missed lunch. And Snoozles has like, the world's worst timing. So what, you just gave up and walked out?"

"Yah…" The small earthbender beside Zuko continued to surprise him; did they know one another so well that they could guess the other's actions? Thoughts?

"You're screwed."

"Thanks Badger Bit. That's so comforting."

Toph pointed a disciplining finger, almost mimicking Katara. "Watch it on the sarcasm, Ore. I'm just telling you like it is." She crossed her arms, thinking. "You must have the world's worst timing."

"Still not helping."

"Oh, right. I can fix—"

Now it was Zuko's turn to laugh. "Oh no you won't. Whenever you try to "fix" my life, it just gets more complicated. No way."

"Fine, your loss. So what are you gonna do? Start things up with Sweetness? Or…"

Zuko waited, not knowing what to expect but anticipating the worst.

"Are you still not-so-head-over-heels for Needles?" she asked as she slumped lower against the wall.

Zuko sighed again; she _always_ had to do this. And for some insane reason only the spirits knew, it helped.

"I have _no_ idea. And no, I don't have any more feelings for Mai than I did before."

A sly smile crossed Toph's face. "But no less?"

"I…"

Toph pushed herself up so her back was straight against the wall. _Oh, this'll be fun_, she thought.

"Come on Sparky. You've gotta know. Do you like her or not? Do you love her? Don't you?"

Zuko hissed, knowing she was pressuring him to help. But his conscious wouldn't give him the answer.

"Come on Princess. It's not that hard. Don't you—"

"Stop," Zuko said, less harshly than he would have with anyone else, but still with a hint of anger in his voice. He'd never responded to Toph that way before.

"Please," he whispered, feeling guilty when he saw a frown form on Toph's face.

She only nodded, understanding completely. "Do you love Katara?" she said softly, knowing she'd gone too far before.

"She's…grown on me. But she still doesn't trust me." Zuko thought back to when Mai and Ty Lee had first shown up, and Katara's immediate response.

"_Did you lead them here?"_

"She will. You'll see Sparky. Sugar Queen's…stubborn. I guess we share that quality."

Zuko almost snickered, realizing if there was anyone he'd learned to love in the past few days, it was the girl sitting beside him. Mai was right; she was the little sister he would never have. Not as long as Azula was around, that was.

Toph yawned, then pushed herself away from the wall so she was lying on the floor, starring up into nothing, obviously in thought. Zuko looked down at her.

"You want to tell me what I missed between you and Aang during training? Which we haven't actually done in weeks, thanks to you."

Toph blushed, rolling onto her side so her back was to Zuko.

"I saw that Bandit."

"Shut up."

"Looks like he's grown on you too."

"I said shut up, Sparky." Her face turned a light crimson; Zuko saw her ear turn pink.

He leaned down towards her face, his mouth at her ear as Zuko whispered, "Do you love him?"

Zuko was sure that if her face turned any redder he'd have to call her a firebender.

"Confess," he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear.

"No," she whispered so softly that if Zuko's face hadn't been so close to hers he wouldn't have heard her at all.

The weakness in her voice took Zuko by surprise; Toph Bei Fong, the Blind Bandit, the Runaway, weakened by a simple question?

"Why…?" Zuko started, but then he realized what was wrong.

"Toph," he whispered, touching her upper cheek, right below her left eye. He wiped away her tear before it could fall, but she didn't respond.

"Shh…" he whispered, trailing his hand up and down her arm, trying to soothe her and warm her at once. "Shh…"

Toph sniffled, and tried to speak. "I don't want to hurt him."

"This isn't just a game anymore, is it?"

Toph nodded, goose bumps forming on her arm where Zuko's hand had been. She pulled away and wiped her own tears, scowling herself for a moment of weakness.

"Katara was right, although she'll never know it. I could never love him…unconditionally." She spat out the last word like poison; it obviously angered her.

"But…a part of you does love him, doesn't it? Even if you don't want to…you still love him." Zuko spoke slowly, not sure how Toph would respond. She nodded, and after a while spoke.

"I can't help it. And it hurts, loving him, because I know he will probably never feel the same way. That no one will ever feel that way towards me." Another tear fell, and Zuko caught it before it streaked down Toph's face.

He whispered softly in her ear, weary of the consequences of his actions for the second time that day, and said, "I love you." And for once he actually meant it.

Toph blinked, caught off guard, and turned her head towards Zuko.

"I…I love you too Sparky."

Zuko smiled lightly, cupped Toph's face in his hands, feeling the warmth of her skin as her blood rose. He kissed her forehead gently, then brushed the hair from her eyes.

Toph, still blushing, blinked again, shocked. The night wasn't turning out like she expected it to. With a yawn she ended the moment, smiled at Zuko, and rested her head on the marble floor without another word, quickly falling asleep. The smile stayed on her face as minutes past.

"Sleep well, Bandit," Zuko whispered after he was sure she was asleep; he didn't need her following him again. He kissed her on the forehead once more and quietly left the room, headed towards the northern corridor where some of the other rooms were hidden.

Zuko heard the voices he was expecting before he'd even rounded the corner that led to the room.

"Mai, it's just like our sleepovers when we were little!" Ty Lee practically sang; Zuko could imagine the smile on her face as easily as he could imagine the scowl on Mai's.

"Yip-ee," Mai replied in her usual drawl, using all the sarcasm the world could provide. And of course, Ty Lee, in her own little bubble, didn't notice a thing.

Zuko heard a body lightly fall on a pillow, and then Ty Lee spoke, her chipper tone as always positioning him on the verge of a headache. The firebender knelt in the shadows of the hall right before the room, listening intently.

"So what should we talk about Mai? Can we stay up telling stories like we did when we—"

"Ty Lee, don't you think we have more important things to worry about. Like…"

"Oh! You're right. What should we do?" Ty Lee's chipper tone was now mixed with worry; Zuko knew when Ty Lee worried it had to be bad.

"They could kill us over this…" Mai whispered, lost in thought.

"Mai!" Ty Lee obviously hadn't considered this before.

"I'm sorry, Ty Lee, but its possible at this point. We need to be ready…"

Zuko heard a sniffle, and then someone walking across the room.

"Ty Lee, don't…"

"I'm fine—sniffle—really…"

"Hm. Maybe we should get to bed."

Zuko heard a light blow as Mai distinguished the candle's flame, a ruffle of sheets, and a soft sigh.

"Good night Mai."

Mai sighed in reply.

Zuko cursed under his breath, disappointed he didn't hear anything helpful. He was about to turn around and return to Toph's room when the thought of her reminded him of something.

Sleep talking.

Zuko snuck back towards the girls' room, sitting near the doorway where he would be able to hear every word, every sigh.

He waited a while, until both Mai and Ty Lee had fallen asleep, and that's when he heard it.

"This is wrong."

Said in such a low sigh that he wouldn't have heard if Zuko hadn't been expecting it. The same three words were said again, so low that Zuko couldn't tell which of the two were saying it.

He heard the rustle of sheets, and decided to take a quick peek inside the room to see which girl was struggle with her conscience. It wasn't much of a surprise; Zuko saw Ty Lee moving back and forth on her mat in obvious discomfort.

"They'll kill us…"

Zuko sighed. He needed to hear something he didn't know.

"…e's coming…"

Zuko perked, almost caught by surprise. This is what he was waiting for. But who?

"…ull…oon…Mid…ight…" Ty Lee had buried her face in her pillow, making it almost impossible for Zuko to hear. He pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed.

"…kill us all…"

Zuko could only imagine what kind of nightmare Ty Lee was having. But this was getting nowhere fast.

Ty Lee rolled over, onto her back, and the scarred prince could hear her clearer once more.

"The end of the war…is near…"

Zuko blinked, trying to process everything he'd heard. Ty Lee sighed, and after a few minutes of silence Zuko peered back into the room, glancing at a familiar smile on her face. That was the end of the all information he'd be getting from her tonight.

The firebender started back towards his room. Thinking. Ty Lee was obviously unsure of what ever she and Mai knew; "This is wrong…They'll kill us," proved that. And she knew who and when it was going to happen; "…e's coming…ull…oon."

"…ull oon," Zuko said aloud, trying to understand. He passed one of the temple's many open halls, and he stopped to look up at the starlit night.

There was a full moon hanging in the cloudless sky.

"No…" Zuko whispered, finally realizing. He quickly ran back to Toph's room, nudging her awake.

"I'm going to regret this," he muttered, knowing better than to bother a sleeping Toph. She groaned and protested, her eyes squeezed tight, but Zuko continued.

"Toph. Toph, **get up!**"

Toph groaned again, and suddenly Zuko heard a noise behind him. He turned just in time to see a boulder from the pile across the room coming his way.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, dodging boulder after boulder. "Instead of sleep talking, she sleep earthbends. Perfect."

When Toph finally settled down, Zuko realized what might get her attention.

"Aang might be in trouble, Bandit," he whispered, knowing she could hear regardless of how low he talked. And of course, Toph sprang awake, using her bending to push herself to a defensive standing position.

"What's going on," she grumbled, alert but sleepy. Zuko grabbed her wrists before she could start bending at him again.

"They're planning an attack at the full moon," Zuko said, hoping she would understand and he wouldn't have to waste time explaining.

Of course not.

"Pins and Needles? How do you know?" Toph said, stomping to get a reading of the temple grounds. "No ones awake but us."

"I heard Ty Lee sleep talking and—"

"Wow, maybe you've learned a bit too much from me, huh Sparky?"

"Toph, please! Ty Lee muttered something about a full moon, and I think she meant it would happen at midnight. We have to tell the others."

"So what are you wasting your time explaining this to me for?" she said, already walking out of the room and into the hall. She stomped again, sending tremors to three different rooms. A few minutes later, Aang, Katara, Suki, and a groggy Sokka stuck their heads out their doorways.

"What nowww…" Sokka slurred, obviously annoyed.

"Sparky's got news," Toph said, walking towards Aang's room with Zuko behind. "I thought it took precedence over your sappy sweet dreams."

Everyone entered Aang's room, unconsciously forming a circle in the center of the room as they sat down.

"I went to Ty Lee and Mai's room, hoping I'd hear their plans," Zuko started, looking around at the circle of sleepy faces around him. Couldn't they already understand the importance of this? "Instead I heard Ty Lee sleep talking."

Aang raised a brow at Zuko, thoughts of a previous night obviously on his mind. Zuko nonchalantly shrugged in reply.

"Ty Lee said three things that caught my interest. They sounded like 'he's coming,' 'full moon, midnight,' and 'the end of the war is near.'" Zuko looked around at the now awake group members, realization written on their faces.

"But tonight…" Katara muttered, thinking.

Zuko nodded. "Tonight's a full moon," he finished for her. "And it's almost midnight."

Toph traced her hand on the marble floor. "I don't feel anyone yet. Pins and Needles are still asleep, even."

"How do we know its this full moon?" Suki asked.

"It's not just any full moon," Katara sighed, obviously worried. "It's a lunar eclipse."

"Perfect." Zuko's pessimism leaked in his tone.

"We can't just sit here, waiting for them then," Aang said, standing up and hitting his staff to the floor. "We need to be ready for them."

"I don't think this is just one of Azula's planned attacks. I think the Fire Lord is coming," Zuko said, refusing to call the man the may destroy them all his father. Toph brushed her hand against his wrist, understanding from his vibrations.

"Then lets end this. Now."

"We should—" Katara started, but Toph held up a hand to stop her.

Suddenly a crash vibrated throughout the temple, making Sokka jump.

"They're here."


	18. Guess The Guest

**Chapter 18: Guess the Guest**

"Azula's mine." Katara and Zuko looked at one another in surprise, then nodded in a silent agreement. They would take her together.

"Let's go!" Aang said, running out of the room as he headed towards the main atrium, where the noise seemed to be coming from. The others followed close behind.

"Sokka and Suki, find Ty Lee and Mai, make sure there's no way they can assist in the fight," Aang said, shouting orders.

"We're on it," Sokka grabbed Suki by the shoulder as the two headed down the opposite corridor that headed towards the room the girls shared.

"How many Toph?" Zuko asked, falling right behind Aang in stride.

"I can't tell…" she said, sounding disappointed in herself. "I think they might have earthbenders, the vibrations seem familiar but I can't…"

Toph stopped midsentence as the others slowed to a walk; they had reached the main room. Ambers from that night's fire still glowed, providing some light to the left of the room. But otherwise, it was pitch black.

Katara looked into the night sky, the full moon slowly nearing its half way mark. "The lunar eclipse," she whispered, almost horrified. If anyone, she was at her weakest now.

"Can you bloodbend?" Aang whispered, frowning when Katara shook her head in despair. He put a hang on her shoulder, trying to silently comfort her.

The young earthbender kneeled down, sweeping her hand across the marble floor as she looked for vibrations. Suddenly her face lit up in surprise.

"No…It can't be. It's…"

The sound of heavy footsteps, failing in an attempt to be hidden, were heard in front of them, and Zuko didn't give Toph the chance to finish, instead taking a step ahead of the others in a defensive stance.

"Who's there?!"

A rumble was heard close by, and suddenly the floor began to shake. The gang looked around, trying to find the source. Aang started to run ahead, but he was stopped in mid-stride; a second later their feet were captured by the marble floor beneath them.

"Crap," Toph muttered, but she wasn't complaining about being caught. She bended the marble covering her feet away, as did Aang, and the two helped the others. "There _are_ earthbenders here."

"The Di Lee?" Katara asked, bending the water from her pouches in preparation for an attack.

"No, no, ugh, I can't place it." Toph said, shaking her head.

"Don't beat yourself up over this," Zuko whispered, placing his hand on the earthbender's shoulder in comfort. "Now come on."

The two took another few steps forward, and almost immediately marble boulders were sent their way. Toph bent them aside, covering Zuko as he stood a step behind her, trying to place where their attacker stood. He was afraid that if he didn't aim correctly when he tried to fight back, that he might hurt Toph in the process of protecting her.

Aang looked into the dark room, but the farther Toph and Zuko stepped in, the harder it was for him to see. He grabbed Katara's arm and directed her in the opposite direction, where the fountain sat. He looked at her questionably, and she nodded in understanding.

Carefully, Katara bent the water out of the fountain, spreading the liquid slowly around the perimeter of the room. At Aang's signal, she shot the water inward, quickly freezing it until everything was covered in ice. Even Toph and Zuko stopped moving; a thin frost covered and froze everything.

A clapping sound could be heard from the back of the room, closer to the edge where the temple began. Zuko defrosted Toph and himself, then held a flame in the palm of his hand, trying to see the face of their unwelcome visitor.

But perhaps he wasn't unwelcome after all.

"Bravo! Very well played. Not much unlike a game of Pi Sho, if I do say so myself!" a cheery voice said, laughing as he spoke.

"Uncle?!"

"I knew it! I'm not losing my touch after all," Toph said.

Iroh took a step forward, where the moon would shine on him, making it easier for the others to see him.

"I would hope not, Miss Toph. Never doubt your own capabilities. Now if you wouldn't mind," he said with a sigh, looking around the room. "Could someone give this old man a steaming cup of tea?"

~~---~~

"You could have sent a messenger, told Mai and Ty Lee to warn us of your arrival, _anything_ but sneak up on us in the middle of the night!"

Zuko was pacing as the others sat in a small circle. Sokka and Suki had returned, relaying that the others were still asleep. Sokka was just disappointed that he'd missed all the excitement.

"If I had sent a messenger hawk, it could have been intercepted and I'd have put you in danger. Is that what you'd have preferred, nephew?" Iroh asked, raising a brow as he sipped his tea. "Very well prepared, thank you Miss Katara."

Katara smiled from the compliment, it wasn't often that she was praised, seeing as that she was surrounded by teenagers either her own age or younger.

"You're welcome," she said, sitting beside Aang.

"And you couldn't have warned Pins and Needles because…?" Toph asked, sipping her own tea in her place beside Iroh.

"Well now, I couldn't have told them consciously, could I have? They'd have told Azula in an instant had I told them too early." Iroh paused to take another sip of tea, giving Zuko the opportunity to interrupt.

The firebender stopped his pacing and looked up at his uncle. "Consciously?"

"I had an ex-Di Le member feed Ty Lee bits of information in her sleep. I was hoping, knowing that she, like myself, sleep talks, would provide you with the information in due time."

"I have a question," Aang said, finally speaking up. "The earthbenders Toph felt…"

"Are probably long gone at this time. Perhaps they escaped through the tunnels?" Iroh took another sip of tea, a sparkle in his eye as he watched Toph, expecting her to provide the answer to his riddle.

"You led someone here and let them leave? Are you crazy? They could return with Azula taking the lead! They—"

Toph used her bending to stop Zuko in his angry tracks, remembering where she'd learned the technique—the same one that had been used on them just moments before—and many of her other basic earthbending skills from.

"Badgermoles."

"Precisely," Iroh said with a nod and a smile, obviously proud of the earthbender's sharp thinking.

"You couldn't remember their vibrations because…" Katara said, thinking.

"I was three the last time I'd 'seen' one…" Toph finished, surprised. Iroh found the temple because of the badgermoles, and they wouldn't lead anyone else to this spot; badgermoles only aided the vibrations of people they felt could be trusted.

"Toph!" Zuko growled, trying to free himself from her earthbending trap.

"Be nice Princess," the earthbender said in a singsong voice, a wicked smile on her face.

"Princess?" Iroh muttered, as Toph released Zuko's bindings.

"Don't ask," mumbled Sokka, Suki, and Katara simultaneously, recalling their own torturous nicknames the earthbender had given them.

Aang cleared his throat, and everyone turned to him. "We still have a few problems at hand," he said, coming to sit across from Iroh. "What are the chances of Azula finding us here?"

Iroh frowned, thinking this over. "You will need an escape plan. Have you somewhere else to hide?" Iroh looked up at Zuko, expecting the answer from his nephew.

"No, Uncle. It's too obvious."

"So obvious that she wouldn't even consider it, yes?"

"I'm sorry, but what are you two—" Katara started, but Zuko interrupted her.

"He wants us to hide right under Azula's nose. In the Fire Nation." Zuko shook his head, coming to sit beside Toph as he rubbed his ankles.

"What?! There's no way! We'd all be in constant danger!" Sokka frowned, but his face lightened as Suki touched his arm, trying to calm him.

"Isn't that what we've been doing this entire time though? Before the Day of Black Sun, we were moving from Fire Nation town to town. Will it be much different?" Katara said calmy, yet a bit indecisive about the idea. There had been so many times where they had been too close to getting caught.

"It's just a thought. You kids need somewhere else to go in the case you are found here," Iroh drank his tea slowly, watching how each of the teens reacted.

"You've been quiet Toph. What do you think?" Aang watched the earthbender as she played with something unrecognizable around her neck. Iroh noticed it as well, and was quick to place it, sharing a swift glance with his nephew, who only shrugged.

"Why on a lunar eclipse?" she asked, looking up at Iroh as she let the necklace fall to her chest. "Why did Pins think the war was going to end because you were coming?"

"Hm," Iroh said, pondering her questions as he took the last sip of his tea. Noticing this, Katara used her waterbending to refill his cup. "Thank you Miss Katara," Iroh said with a smile, then turned his attention back to Toph. "To answer your first question, I picked the eclipse for two reasons. First off, it was so you would know the definite date. Now I was hoping you'd hear Ty Lee mention that before tonight, but I assume that is not so?"

The others shook their heads in reply, to which Iroh frowned.

"Well, I see. The second reason was actually because of your lovely friend here," Iroh smiled at Katara once more, who looked up in surprise.

"Me?"

"I wondered how you would manage if one of your group was weakened. Now I see it didn't make much of a difference," he took another sip of tea before he continued. "And as for your second question, well, I didn't tell my Di Lee friend to tell her any such thing."

This surprised the others, and they look around at one another in slight confusion.

"What exactly did you hear Ty Lee say, Zuko?" Suki asked quietly.

The firebender pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remember.

"At first she said, 'This is wrong,' and then 'They'll kill us…' But after a while her voice changed…and she said…"

Zuko sighed, trying to think as everyone's eyes were focused on him.

"I think, '…e's coming…' '…ull…oon…Mid…ight…' '…kill us all…' and lastly, 'The end of the war…is near…' like Toph said."

"That's strange. The message I relayed to her was 'Coming on the full moon at midnight.' That was all." Iroh frowned, suddenly worried.

"There's something they're not telling us," Katara said, shaking her head.

Toph looked up at Aang. "Do you think it has to do with…what the others told you?"

Only Toph and Zuko knew what Aang's past lives had told him, about the Avatar spirit that was trying to take his place, so the others looked at Aang, confused and searching for answers.

The Avatar explained, causing worried looks on the faces of his friends.

"I don't know Toph," he said, sighing. "Maybe we should look at this in pieces."

Katara nodded in agreement. "The first thing she said, 'This is wrong,' that can refer to them keeping their secret from us."

Zuko shrugged. "Or their plan, if they have one, to tell Azula where we are. Maybe Ty Lee feels guilty?"

"And then, 'They'll kill us," does that mean us or someone in the palace? 'E's coming' would either be Ozai or Azula, same with 'kill us all,'" Katara stopped to think, trying to remember the last message. "'The end of the war is near," she whispered.

"That could only mean my death," Aang said sadly.

"What could?" a chipper voice asked from across the room. Everyone turned to see Ty Lee coming toward them with her dance-like stride, Mai following slowly after.

"Well good morning ladies," Iroh said, trying to distract them from the conversation they'd overheard. But Iroh's presence took the two Fire Nation girls by surprise, stopping them dead in their tracks.

Toph took note of their heartbeats, how they immediately quickened. Was it from surprise or guilt?

"We…I…" Ty Lee stuttered, obviously shocked. Mai stepped in front of her, stopping the younger girl from continuing.

"There's something you should know."


	19. Plans Bloom

**Chapter 19: Plans Bloom**

"Mai!" Ty Lee gasped, trying to pull back her friend. The older girl ignored this and stepped forward, her usual frown masking her face. Aang, Sokka, and Katara immediately jumped to their feet, each in a defensive stance. Aang had his hand reaching for his staff, Sokka's hovering over the hilt of his sword, and Katara already had water whips halfway through her pouches. Mai rolled her eyes and looked at Zuko, who was resting his hand on Toph's shoulder in a protective manner.

"We _left_ Azula," she muttered, not breaking contact with Zuko, as if he was the only one who would believe her, or perhaps the only one she needed to convince. "When we heard…We knew we had to leave."

"Heard _**what**_, Mai?" Zuko asked, impatient as always, his voice rough.

"We know that Aang isn't the only Avatar," Mai sighed, turning towards the younger bender. "Although we don't know how or why. And as soon as Azula heard, she wouldn't stop searching until she found her."

"Her?" Katara asked, returning her water to her pouches as she crossed her arms over her chest. "The next Avatar is female?"

Aang, still holding his staff, nodded. "Just like the Avatar's initial element shifts, their gender does as well."

"Did Azula find her, Mai?" Zuko asked, still impatient. He stood up and walked over to her. "Did Azula find the other Avatar?"

"Yes," Mai answered, almost sadly, although none could tell the difference in her tone.

"But!" Ty Lee gasped, finally speaking. "But she got away. The night we left we saw her escape! And now Azula…" Ty Lee frowned, causing slight wrinkles on her usually perky face.

"Azula is probably pissed," Zuko finished, turning to face the others. "Now what?"

"If I were her," Aang started, referring to the female Avatar, "I'd stay close to the Fire Nation, so I could ready to attack."

"He's right," Sokka said, crossing his arms as he removed his grip from his sword hilt as he walked towards the rooms. "Everyone get everything packed."

"Sokka—" Katara started, sounding annoyed.

"We're moving into the Fire Nation."

No one moved, instead everyone continued to stare at Sokka, slightly confused.

"Snoozles, we can't just uproot and take off," Toph muttered. As strange as the layout of the temple was, she was used to it now; her feet had completely mapped everything out for her.

"What Sokka, you just want to head straight into the Fire Nation, where wanted posters with Aang's face are posted every where, to look for some girl?" Zuko threw his hands up, obviously angered by the situation. "I'm glad we have you to come up with all the bright ideas!" he cried, pacing.

"Cool it Hothead," Toph sighed. She directed her face towards where her feet told her Sokka stood, mouth open as if about to defend himself. "And shut it Snoozles, or I'll do it for you. He's right, we need a plan."

"Iroh?" Katara said, turning towards the oldest in the growing group. "What do you think?"

"Uncle, my dear, call me Uncle," he said with a smile, stroking his beard. "I think I need more tea."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his noise, his impatience waning. "Uncle, this isn't the time—"

"There is always time for tea, nephew. A patience heart knows of this." Katara used her bending to refill Iroh's cup, giving Zuko a sharp glance for interrupting their elder.

"Thank you, Miss Katara. Now…" Iroh breathed in his tea, considering the scene at hand. "I agree that we must leave here, at once. If Mai and Ty Lee can find this place, surely you're ruthless sister will as well." Iroh looked towards his nephew; it was obvious that he needed the most convincing. "But we do have a place to stay."

"Oh!" Ty Lee squealed, her smile returning to her face. "Are we revisiting Ember Island? I could use the tan."

Mai rolled her eyes, then turned back towards Iroh. "Won't that be at all obvious? Azula isn't that dense."

"She'll expect you to be in a place of comfort. She'll expect you are here. Not to mention, we could spy on Azula the closer we are to the palace. Azula expects action; for you to attack once more before the comet, while the sides are somewhat even. That is not the case with you on our side," Iroh said, looking at Aang. "By avoiding direct action, we shall avoid Azula in the process."

"Wouldn't it be easier if we were in one of the lower sectors of the nation then? We could easily blend it amongst the town peasants—" to this Katara groaned in disgust, "—instead of having to deal with the hours long flight between the palace and the island." Zuko said, trying to find away around returning to the beach.

"There is too much of a risk that one of you will be recognized so close to the palace; the island is remote and separated from the traveling news of the nation. I doubt your posters hang there." Iroh mumbled, considering their options.

"Um…any of you want to fill us in?" Sokka said, obviously lost.

"It looks like we're going to Ember Island," Mai mumbled, just as pleased as usual.

"Yeah! You'll love it there!" Ty Lee twirled mid-sentence, excited.

"Great," Toph muttered, unimpressed. "Sand."

---

After a short discussion with Haru, The Duke, and Teo of their plan, it was decided that the other three members of the group would stay behind at the temple, and they would meet at the Fire Nation walls on the day of the comet.

The others packed up their few belongs, preparing to leave at sunrise. Toph, with only her small bag of belongings, found her way to the temple's garden to lie in thought among the firelilies.

"Don't try to sneak up on me Sparky, you know better."

"Who said I was sneaking?" the firebender replied teasingly, trying to lighten up the mood considering what had happened in the past few hours. Zuko came to sit beside her, stretching his legs out and he rested his weight on his arms behind him.

"You ready to go?" Zuko asked.

"Mhm," Toph mumbled, nudging her bag beside her. "All my valuables packed up and ready to go."

"Valuables, huh?" Zuko asked, reaching for her bag. Toph used her bending to push it out of his grasp, causing Zuko to laugh in response.

"You really don't want me to know what's in there, do you Badgerbit?" he teased, finally enjoying himself as though he'd forgotten all that had happened in the past few hours.

"Hardly," the earthbender replied, obviously lost in thought. Toph was never one for few words.

"Eh hem," Zuko looked behind them—Toph must have felt their visitor's presence and stayed as she was—to see his Uncle there, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Miss Toph, I was wondering if I could steal away my nephew for a few short moments, if you don't mind."

"Not at all Tearoh. But the 'Miss Toph' stuff isn't necessary."

Iroh laughed. "Just showing a wise child my respect. Thank you," Iroh motioned for his nephew to follow him, leaving Toph alone amongst the red flowers.

But she wasn't alone for long.

Suddenly a gust of wind surrounded her, and it took a minute for Toph to release what was going on.

"Twinkletoes, get your butt down here. You know I hate when you do that."

Aang laughed, slowing the turns of his staff as he landed softly on his feet beside Toph.

"You all right?" he asked, taking a seat beside her. The dying wind played with her hair, and a few short wisps left the protection of her headband. Without thinking Aang raised his hand to push them behind her ear, and Toph fought back a blush.

"Fine," she replied, still lost in thought.

The sat in silence for a moment, but Aang's nervous vibrations urged Toph to speak.

"So what do you think of all this?" she asked, already expecting his answer. But Aang surprised her.

"I don't want to focus on it right now. I'd rather focus on the mess you've made here." Aang became continuously nervous with each word, as if waiting for her response so he'd know when to defend himself.

"Which mess?" she asked, playing along.

"Setting up Zuko and Katara? Confusing Sokka, playing with my feelings." At this Toph blushed, but she let him continue. "You always have a goal at the games you play Toph. And I can't figure this one out."

"Who says I'm playing a game this time?" she said, nearly equally nerved. Toph didn't want things going any farther then they needed to, especially since she was still confused over the "unconditional love" thing.

Aang didn't respond. Instead he fingered one of the crimson firelilies that bloomed around them, cutting it with his airbending half way at the stem. The Avatar placed the flower behind Toph's ear, and this time her cheeks turned the same shade as the flower.

"Twinkletoes…" she started, unsure of herself. He stopped her, placing a finger atop her lips.

"I'm not playing games anymore Toph. We're at war. I need to keep my mind on that." Aang sighed, disappointed that things couldn't worked out the way he wished they could, but knowing where his priorities lied. In order to reach the Spirit World and the Avatar State, he couldn't have any earthly possessions. The irony of the situation only stung him.

While Aang's head understood the matter at hand, his heart refused to leave her that way. Slowly, he pecked her on the cheek, feeling the heat on her skin as she blushed. He was in no rush as he pulled away.

"But after…"

Aang stood up to leave, leaving his words in the air. He turned back only once to measure Toph's reaction. She sat with her hand on her cheek, obviously surprised. With a sigh Aang walked out of the garden, whispering as he left, "I like you," so low there was no way she could hear.

"I like you too Twinkletoes."

---

"She obviously means much to you, nephew. I'm glad to see that. But the necklace…"

Zuko shook his head, frustrated at his uncle for bringing this up.

"It's not like that Uncle. She's more like a younger sister to me then Azula ever was."

"I understand that nephew. But you're sister will expose it as yet another weakness. You must be careful. The young earthbender could get caught in your cross fires, so to speak."

The two firebenders continued walking in silence; Iroh was the one to finally break it.

"May I ask how this bond was formed? It seems a bit…unexpected."

Zuko laughed lightly at this, reminding himself of Toph's punishing him for the burns he caused.

"Out of all the others," he finally said, realizing their friendship began before that, "she was the first to believe I was honest in my motives."

"And are you still?"

Zuko didn't answer, instead continuing to lead their walk back towards the temple's main rooms.

"I won't allow Azula to harm her," Zuko said, as though to himself. Iroh only nodded as they parted ways, leaving Zuko near the entrance of the garden where Toph still sat alone.

The most obvious change was the flower in Toph's hair, but it wasn't until seconds later that Zuko noticed the color of her cheeks.

"Do I even want to know?" Zuko asked, sitting beside her once more.

"Seeing as I'm not up for the tease session, no, probably not."

Zuko nodded, turning to look at Toph's face. Each time he did so, he noticed something different. The frown on her face stood out most.

"Something's bothering you Toph…" Zuko started. She just shook her head.

"Something's off," she said, worried. "And it bothers me that I'm unsure. I feel like I'm losing it."

Aang's voice screamed across the temple before Zuko could console her.

"We're leaving!"

Toph grabbed her bag and swung it across her shoulder, tossing Zuko's his as they walked towards the edge of the abyss where Appa and the others waited.

"Are you sure we've gotten everything? Do we have enough food and water? What about…?"

Katara dug her way through the bags that sat on Appa's saddle, double-checking to make sure they had everything.

"Its fine Katara. If we've forgotten anything we'll have to leave it. We need to go."

Katara nodded at Aang, sighing as she sat along the corner of the saddle closest to him; furthest from the bag, as so she wouldn't be tempted to recheck their stock.

Toph bent a marble pillar to hoist herself onto the saddle, and Zuko jumped up behind her. The two benders sat at the end; Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai sat beside them, while Katara, Suki, and Sokka sat up front. Aang was already in his normal position, and he turned to make sure everyone was seated. His glance met Toph's, who turned away.

Aang sighed, trying to hide his emotions.

"Yip yip!"

A/N: For those of you who are impatient and keep bugging me about updating faster (there are some of you that say it nicely, some not so much) not only will I ignore your comment, but I might decide to stop writing all together. Just saying. I write at my own schedule, with my own ideas. If you can't deal with it, there are other amazing writers out there. Bother them.


	20. Azula's Arrival

Chapter 20: Azula's Arrival

"Everyone got everything?" Aang asked as they lifted off with a grunt from Appa. Suddenly a loud bang came from behind, and the group turned around to see a huge warship headed their way.

"Azula," Zuko muttered, his signature frown crossing his face.

"Oh!" Katara cried, her fingers flying to her throat. "My mother's necklace!"

"You've got to be kidding me, Sugar Queen. That thing seems to be everywhere _but_ your neck!"

"I told Haru to go underground with the others at any sign of danger, hopefully they're safe," Aang said, worrying. "We need to get out of here, now."

"I'm not leaving without it," Katara said, stubborn as ever. She stood up, swaying to keep her balance as Appa floated midair, waiting for Aang's command. Sokka grabbed his sister's wrist before she could bend from the skins on her hips.

"Let go of me Sokka," she muttered, angry.

"I'm not going to lose you!"

Katara pulled her arm from his grasp, jumping from Appa and bending at the same time, using the water to create a wave that lead to the marble flood of the temple. The others watched as she ran towards the rooms, now out of their line of sight.

Zuko muttered under his breath, watching as his sister pointed in Katara's direction, where the war balloon was soon redirected.

"Fly1" Zuko yelled, jumping from Appa as Katara had and creating fire bursts under his feet to reach the temple.

"Damn it Sparky!" Toph cried, grabbing her bag and preparing to do the same. She didn't get the chance; Sokka grabbed her ankle, and Suki the other.

"You heard Zuko," Sokka said with a sigh, worried over his sister but knowing he'd have to trust Zuko this time. Eying the warship to see it was landing, Sokka turned towards Aang as he forced a protesting Toph to sit.

"Fly!"

*~~~~~~~~~*

"Where is it?!" Katara cried, ripping through the room she had previously occupied. The once organized space was now is shambles, sheets and other items having been thrown at random. Katara continued to shuffle through items, frantic.

Zuko reached her within seconds of his landing, knowing Azula couldn't be far behind.

"What were you thinking?!" he stammered, gasping for air while helping Katara search for the heirloom.

"You know that's all I have left of my mother! You know the value it has for me; you've used it as leverage against me before!" she pointed out, dumping the contents of a drawer in hast.

"And you know my sister will kill you if—"

"Found it!"

"Well, well. Look who got left behind."

Katara whirled around, holding the necklace tightly in one palm while bending from one of her pouches with the other. Zuko's own palms lit aflame, and he took a protective step in front of Katara, who scuffed in annoyance.

"Now now, brother dearest, I haven't come to hurt you. On the contrary," Azula stepped forward with a feline smile, her hands in front of her as if in surrender. "I've come to help."

"Help? Why would we need your help, Azula?" Zuko's palms remained aflame, curling them into fists at the sight of his sister.

"Why would we _want_ your help, you mean," Katara mumbled behind him.

Azula ignored her, directing her attention towards her brother. "You've always been such a good hunter, Zuzu—"

Zuko heard Katara's near muted laugh behind him. "Zuzu?"

"—Able to find the Avatar over and over. Granted you rarely ever caught him, but with my help…"

"I'm done trying to capture the Avatar, Azula. And I'm done with trusting you."

Azula folded her arms in front of her, the smile on her face now shifting to a frown. She clicked her tongue in disappointment.

"That's too bad, Zuko," Azula said, snapping her fingers as a controlled spark appeared between them. "Too bad."

*~~~~~~~~~*

"Can we—" Toph started, but her words were muffled by the hand that covered her lips. She bit the fingers that stopped her from continuing, and Sokka pulled away with a moan.

"That was hardly necessary," he muttered, assessing the damage.

"Can we turn around now?" Toph said, ignoring Sokka's complaints.

"Not unless you want die by Azula's hand," Mai sighed, obviously annoyed. But perhaps that was Toph's intention.

"Be nice Needles," Toph said, probably the only of the group with any patience left to tease. Aang said nothing, knowing it was Toph's method of hiding her worry.

The Avatar looked around the saddle, wondering how much longer they could stand each other in such close proximity; they'd already been traveling for three hours.

Iroh appeared asleep, although from experience Aang knew the difference between asleep and "unconsciously observing," a trick Iroh once used when babysitting his niece and nephew. (It was the only way to catch Azula in the act, although she caught on fast enough.) Aang wondered what his uncle was waiting for, but shrugged it off, turning his attention towards the others.

Ty Lee was talking animatedly, although it seemed that no one was really listening. Occasionally Mai, who was sharpening her dagger, would nod, and Ty Lee would continue on with her story. Suki had fallen asleep an hour into their flight, and was now lying her head against Sokka's shoulder, who was beginning to fall asleep himself.

Toph blew the strands of hair covering her eyes out of her face—not that it made much of a difference—it annoyance, rolling her useless eyes as she crawled towards Aang.

"Twinkletoes," Toph whispered, taking a seat beside him.

"I know Toph, but we can't turn back. Katara and Zuko know how to take care of themselves."

"Against Azula!?"

"I don't like it anymore than you do, Toph," Aang sighed, taking a sideway glance at the earthbender before turning his attention back towards their flight path.

"All we can do is focus on this other Avatar…" Aang frowned, realizing how conceded he sounded. He was worry sick over Katara and Zuko, but all of them against Azula—while stronger—would result is collateral damage.

Toph traced the pattern of her space rock armband in thought, something Aang noticed immediately; Toph was never quiet.

"What?"

"You can bend clouds, right?"

*~~~~~~~~~*

"You know better than to work against me, Zuzu," Azula growled, taking a step forward and snapping her fingers as the air zapped with electricity once more.

Zuko took a step back in response, never betraying eye contact with his sister. Plan after plan formed in his mind, knowing that only one had even the slightest chance of keeping both himself and Katara alive.

The flames he'd kept alive within his palms died out as Zuko raised his hands in surrender, and after a single glance at Katara, she followed suit. Of course, Azula knew better.

Azula directed her fingers at Zuko's heart, and a bright blue flash filled the room as fire and ice meet electricity.

The blinding light and smoky aftermath covered Katara and Zuko's escape as they ran towards Aang's room, the setting sun visible through the open second exist. Both benders stopped right before the edge that opened towards a never-ending abyss.

"Do you trust me?" Zuko asked, holding out his hand.

"Not a chance in hell," Katara smiled, grabbing his hand anyway.

"Some things never change," he mumbled, rolling his eyes as they jumped off the ledge.

Azula's screams of frustration were barely audible as they fell, floors passing them by in a blur. Zuko squeezed Katara's hand as he watched her, holding her breath and eyes closed. He ignited a fire beneath his feet and wrapped his arm under Katara's knees, carrying her bridal shower as they landed within a hole in the temple wall (an action he knew he would regret later.)

"Alright, let go of me," Katara said as they landed, pushing against Zuko's chest. "Spirits," she sighed, her face pink with blush. "Where are we?"

"Toph's 'Plan B'," Zuko mumbled, scratching behind his head as he felt his neck heat up in his own embarrassment.

"The tunnel leads to the other side of the temple. My balloon is waiting there."

"Great," Katara sighed, realizing she'd be with Zuko longer than she planned. She turned towards the tunnel, annoyed but the outcome of events and thankful at the same time.

"We better get started," Zuko said, holding a small flame in his palm as they walked towards the dark path.

"Thank you, by the way," Katara practically whispered, staring at her hands, the chocker of her necklace wrapped around her fingertips.

"No one deserves to end up alone with Azula," Zuko replied, noticing the necklace for the first time.

"Here," he said, holding out his hand for the necklace. Katara dropped it in his hands and turned her back towards Zuko as she held her hair out of his way.

"Thank you," she said.

"You said that already."

*~~~~~~~~~*

"Could you two be more obvious?" Mai droned, turning towards Toph and Aang. "Do you want Azula to catch us?"

Aang shook his head and continued with his work, wiping sweat from his brow as he provided Toph with a chance to retort.

"If that were the case Needles we wouldn't have left Sparky and Sweetness behind. I didn't hear you volunteering to play heroine."

"I think it's cute!" Ty Lee squealed, quietly enough not to wake Sokka and Suki. "Little cloud arrows. Poof!"

Toph groaned and muttered something that sounded to Aang like "Too perky," and he half smiled as he worked, creating another arrow in the clouds for Katara to follow.

"If they escaped, Sparky and Sweetness should be half way down the path by now. Luckily the clouds won't fade by the time they're up here."

"But Azula—"

"Azula's war_ship_ can't travel as high as a war _balloon_," Toph said as Aang sat beside her for the next few miles.

"Katara will recognize the clouds, we've done this before. Should we meet them halfway or continue towards the beach?" the Avatar asked, worried.

"It's too late for that, Iroh said, nodding towards the shore below. "Welcome to Ember Island."


	21. Crumbs and Kisses

Chapter 21: Crumbs and Kisses

Although she usually wasn't one to complain, considering the circumstances and Toph's absense (the usual complainer), Katara couldn't help asking in a tedious tone:

"How much longer?"

Zuko sighed in response, not from annoyance, but because he was tired as well. "We never found out how far out the temple actually goes, we stayed near the opening for a quick escape. When Toph made the tunnel it only took her a second…it can't be much longer."

Katara nodded, biting her lip as she allowed for a prolonged moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," the two said simultaneously, stopping in their tracks at the surprise of the other's apology.

"What are you apologizing for?!" Zuko asked, confused.

"The way I've been treating you, you don't deserve that. You saved my brother, father, and Suki. I should be thanking you."

"Hardly," Zuko mumbled, shifting the flame in his palm from one hand to the other.

"I've deserved everything you've thrown at me," he said, avoiding Katara's gaze as he spoke. "After what I've done—"

A cold touch surrounded his empty palm, and he stopped midsentence as he stared at Katara's hand in his.

"We all make mistakes," she whispered, obviously hesitant. "But all those mistakes brought us here."

"Yeah, on the death-bent end of Azula's hunt."

Katara shook her head with a laugh, squeezing Zuko's hand in her own.

"We've escaped both you _and_ your sister a thousand times. Its barely a challenge anymore."

"Hm," Zuko replied, not as optimistic. He lifted the palm holding the flame above their heads, lighting the entire pathway. Not that they needed the light any longer.

"We're here."

"Welcome to Ember Island," Iroh said, motioning towards the beach house they'd be staying in as they landed.

"Great. Now that we're here, who's ready to go back to the temple?" Toph said, lying back on Appa's saddle as the rest of them jumped down.

"Toph…" Aang started, but a boulder in the form of a handprint covered his mouth. He didn't even try to remove it, knowing Toph had a second hand prepared.

"I'm _not_ here on vacation, Twinkletoes. Especially while Sugar and Sparks are in a mile radius of Crazula. So let's go!"

"Forget it! Why should we risk us, risk the Avatar, for only the two of them?!"

All heads turned towards Mai, who was red in the face with anger.

Aang peeled the stone from his lips, threw it to the side, and stared at Mai with a look of surprise. "What?!"

"This isn't about them; this war, this new Avatar. It's about you. So quit being selfish and only concerned with the people in your little Avatar gang—"

To this Sokka mumbled something that sounded like "Team Avatar."

"—and consider the thousands of people, within each of the four nations, that _need _you. That are depending on you to change their lives for the better, that are—"

Toph cut Mai short, throwing another earth glove with frustration. The earthbender jumped down from Appa and stood in front of Mai, bending the sand beneath her so the two met in height.

"You don't know half of what Aang has to deal with, Needles," Toph spat, getting in Mai's face. Despite the earth convering her mouth a snarl was still formed on her lips. "So why don't you just learn to shut it. We don't have to keep you or Pins with us. I'm sure Azula would love to have her bestest friends back."

Toph bent the sand beneath her back to ground level and walked towards the beach house with a huff, the others watching her from behind.

"Now you've done it," Sokka said, shouldering his bag as he and Suki followed Toph path. Iroh shook his head with disappoinment and followed suit. Ty Lee looked between her friend and the group moving towards the building, unsure of herself.

"Toph's right," Aang said, staring Mai down as she pulled the earth glove from her mouth and tossed it aside. "We don't have to keep you with us."

Aang slamed down his staff and flew off, quickly catching up with the others.

"Great!" Ty Lee cried, annoyed. "They're never going to like us!"

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked, adjusting the flight height of the balloon with his bending. Katara had been quiet the entire time they'd been in the air, which seemed like hours. Only ten minutes had pasted since they'd left both the temple and Azula behind.

Katara turned around to face Zuko, her elbows resting on the edge of the basket. "Why'd you kiss me?"

"What?"

"At first I thought it was a dare; seems like something Toph would do. But…" Katara touched her fingertips to her lips, hesistant to continue.

"Why'd you slap me?" Zuko asked, leaning against the opposite side of the airballoon. Their eyes never met as they spoke.

"Instinct?"

Zuko looked up to see Katara standing in front of him, a blush formed across her cheeks.

"What's instinct tell you now?"

A smile crept across Katara's face, as Zuko's lips slowly met hers.

"You have good instincts," Zuko said, forming a smile of his own as they pulled away.

Katara laughed as Zuko brushed the hair from her eyes, enoying the scene around them as they held each other. The clouds around them were shaped oddlying, reminding Katara of the fortuneteller.

"Wait!" she said, pulling away and staring at the clouds around them. "Look!"

"Breadcrumbs."

"Nice," Suki said, taking a look around the beach house. She and Sokka took a seat on one of the couches, snuggling together close.

Toph rolled her eyes, mumbled something inhonerant, and took a seat in a far corner.

"So whats the plan?" Aang asked, closing his staff and taking a seat beside Toph. The two looked over towards Sokka, waiting for an answer.

"Why do I always have to come up with the plan?" Sokka complained.

"Cuz you always volunteer for it, Snoozles. Now we know the quasi-Avatar is somewhere here. If you were hiding out, waiting for a chance to attack, where would you be?"

"You're asking the wrong person, Toph," Sokka said, looking towards Aang.

Aang sighed, thinking things over.

"Close enough to watch over the palace, but somewhere I couldn't be seen."

The four looked towards Iroh, questionably. He carried a tray of teacups and snacks, set it on a table in the living room, and took a seat beside the others. No one asked where Mai and Ty Lee were.

"There's a temple, dedicated to the dragons that bent the first flame, that over looks the palace," Iroh said, taking a sip of his tea. "Only women and firebenders are permitted to enter the temple. She's likely staying there."

Aang nodded, looking around at the others. Sokka stared and Suki, while Aang glanced at Toph.

"What?" Toph asked confused by the silence.

"I'm not going to put her in jeopardy, Aang. I just got her back" Sokka said, shaking his head.

"Toph might be at risk, especially since her blindness is practically her trademark. If anyone gets so much of a hint that it's her…"

"Then we wait for Katara."

"You'll put your sister at risk over your girlfriend?"

"Don't we get any say in this?!" Toph and Suki yelled over the boys, both agrivated that they were being treated as though they weren't in the room.

"Men," both girls said, with a roll of their eyes. Toph pushed away from coach and headed outside, while Suki headed in the opposite direction, upstairs towards the rooms. Sokka sighed and followed after Suki, while Aang ran through the backdoor.

"I guess we'll complete our plans tomorrow," Iroh said with a nod, refilling his cup with jasmine tea. "My favorite."

"Toph!" Aang yelled, running after the earthbender as she headed towards the shore.

"Back off Twinkletoes."

"Toph!" Aang reached forward, but she hit his hand away.

"You don't get it. Sparky is out there, who knows where, we have no idea if Sweetness got our message, let alone understood it, and now you want to send one of us undercover. Oh, and you're getting ready to find to the death with the Fire Lord. Maybe you can see why I'm stressing out right now, Twinkletoes."

Aang stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Toph, surprised when she didn't pull away. Tears streaked her face, and Aang lifted his hand to brush them from her face.

"Shh. I'm sorry Toph. I'm sorry." He kissed the top of her head and held her, the moonlight reflecting off her cold, gray eyes. Aang stared down at her, and although she couldn't see he felt that Toph saw more than anymore.

Aang leaned forward and they kissed, their lips lingering before Toph pulled away.

"You hear that?"

"It's Zuko."


	22. Shouting & Scheming

Chapter 22: Shouting and Schemes

Zuko raised a brow in Toph's direction, knowing only she would be able to recognize the movement in the dark. The earthbender rolled her useless eyes in response, noting the tension between the others.

"Aang?" Katara whispered hesitantly, taking a step forward. Her hand untwined from Zuko as she reached toward Aang, who's own hand still held Toph's.

Toph squeezed Aang's hand, worried by his response to seeing Katara and Zuko together. She thought he would have expected it, but second guessed this assumption after Aang had gone stiff from the sight of the benders in front of them.

Finally the airbender spoke. "I need to talk to Zuko," Aang mumbled, pulling his hand from Toph's as he walked towards the shore, leaving the others in thought. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Zuko headed onto Aang's path, pausing before he passed Toph.

"How are you Champ? Been keeping care of things while we were gone?"

Toph snorted at this, but frowned as she turned her empty eyes towards Aang's direction. "Something like that," she whispered, obviously worried.

"We'll talk when I get back. Go tell the others we're here," Zuko said to both Toph and Katara, continuing on his course.

Zuko found Aang tossing small flames into a fire pit, each burning out before they could set the few charred bits of wood aflame.

"Aang—" Zuko started, but the Avatar interrupted him.

"You knew my intentions!" Aang yelled, turning around towards Zuko. "And yet you never hinted at yours! How--?" Aang frowned and shook his head, turning his back on Zuko as he faced the water.

"What did you expect, Aang? You fell for Katara, why is it so surprising that I did too? Just because she didn't feel the same way you did about her—"

"Shut up! You don't know what she feels! You don't _know_ her!" A fire sparked within the pit, and with each shout the fire grew higher with Aang's anger.

"But she knows me! She trusts _me_. If you can't accept that…" Zuko faltered, unsure of continuing his thought was wise.

"What?"

"Then maybe you should find another firebending master."

Neither bender said anything for a while. Zuko waited for Aang to speak, watching the flames die down until the only light in the dark sky was the bright full moon.

"I don't want her to get hurt," Aang whispered, his back still to Zuko.

"She won't."

The Avatar never heard the firebender leave, instead staring into the ocean waves in thought.

"You broke Aang's heart once, Sugar Queen," Toph said, stopping at the door of the beach house as she turned towards Katara. "Don't do the same to Zuko."

"Who's more likely to get hurt, Toph? Zuko by me…or Aang by you?" Katara pushed passed Toph and entered the building, not looking back.

Instead of following after her, Toph closed the door and stayed behind, thinking of the last warning Katara had given her.

"_Love unconditionally."_

"Isn't it great to be back here, Mai?" Ty Lee asked, spinning around as she glanced at the room she and Mai would be sharing. It hadn't changed since their last visit to Ember Island.

"Sure. Unless it makes you nervous that Azula is only a few miles away."

"Don't be silly! Azula's probably still at the temple, searching through what we left behind. She won't be back for a few days, Mai. Which means I can tan in peace!"

Mai's eyes widened, realizing her memory wasn't as well kept as she thought.

"Do you still love her?"

Aang turned in surprise to see Toph, who took a seat beside him near the shore.

"Sweetness. Do you still love her?" she asked again, keeping a physical distance from Aang as she awaited his answer.

"Toph…" Aang reached for the earthbender's hand, but she pulled away.

"Come on. We've got plans to make." Toph stood and turned towards the beach house, a single tear streaking her face as she left. Aang said nothing as he watched the girl he wanted to love brush it away.

"There's a temple, dedicated to the dragons that bent the first flame. It overlooks the palace, making it the perfect place for this female Avatar to hide in plain sight." Iroh explained again, pouring cups of tea for the teenagers who sat listening. The living room was packed as the group reviewed and discussed their plans.

"One of us needs to go undercover," Suki said, referring to the five girls. "Sokka doesn't want me going—" to this Suki rolled her eyes and Sokka sighed, "—and Aang thinks sending Toph is too obvious. Will they recognize either of you two there?" Suki asked Ty Lee and Mai, who both nodded.

"We visited with Azula every month!" Ty Lee said, recollecting the days before Azula began to hunt Aang.

"That leaves you, Katara."

"No!" both Aang and Zuko protested, sitting up from their seats simultaneously to object.

"I don't think either of you have much of a say in this," Katara said, frowning as the two sat back down. Instead, Katara turned towards her brother and nodded, surprised it wasn't _him_ who was objecting.

"I'll do it."

"I don't think you should do this one alone, Katara. What if we both, so we'll have each other's backs?" Suki suggested, smiling.

Katara returned the smile and nodded in agreement, ignoring the protests of those around them as the girls left to discuss their plans.

"Are you kidding me! Why do I always get left behind?" Toph complained, slumping back in her chair.

"Cause you belong on the battlefield, not in a temple for the Fire Breathers," Mai said as she passed with Ty Lee flanking her.

"Okay, _that_ I can agree with."

Zuko laughed, rolling his eyes as he stood to leave as well. "Come on, Badger Bit. Bed. Now."

"Shut up, Sparky. I'm still mad at you for leaving me behind." But instead of arguing Toph stood and followed Zuko in search of an empty room they could share, leaving Iroh and Aang to talk.

"Something troubling you, young Avatar?" Iroh asked, using his firebending to reheat his tea, which had cooled. The banter of the teenagers he surrounded himself with was an unexpected distraction. "Girl troubles, perhaps?"

Aang nodded, explaining his situation to Iroh, who sat sipping his tea and listening attentively.

"And now I'm confused. Can I love Toph even if I still love Katara?" Aang sighed in contempt, confused by his situation.

"One heart never beats for two. You just haven't realized for whom does your heart beat louder." With these words of wisdom Iroh left Aang to his own thoughts, which only frustrated him more.

"Zuko was right. You _are_ full of riddles." Aang sat for a moment, thinking Iroh's words over.

"I hate riddles."

"I know we said we were going to make a mess of this place, but…"

"Oh please, Ore, we're just getting started," Toph said, stretching out on a floor cot beside Zuko. "Although making our friends our enemies wasn't in the plan…They'll get over it."

Zuko pinched the roof of his nose, obviously more annoyed than Toph by the situation, but knowing neither of them really wanted to discuss it.

"So…" Toph said, a smile stretching across her face.

"Oh no…"

"Oh yes."

Zuko shook his head, wondering if every night for the rest of his life would be this long.

"Story time!"


	23. Missing Endings, Messages, and Malice

Chapter 23: Missing Endings, Messages, and Malice

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, knowing that every one of his actions had a single consequence: he'd have to tell Toph. The fire prince crossed the room and grabbed his bag, which he had left by the door, retrieved a book, and threw it onto Toph's lap.

The blind earthbender traced her fingers over the book, trying to understand Zuko's wordless message.

"No _children_ stories, Sparky. Your mess of a love story is way more interesting," Toph said, tossing the book onto Zuko's lap after she felt him sit beside her.

"Too bad," he muttered, flipping through pages until he found one of his favorites. He opened his mouth to speak but hadn't even released a breath before Toph's hand covered his lips.

"I can always talk to Sugar Queen, Sparky. You know I have a way of digging out the truth. And I don't always need my bending to find it…although I could…"

Toph felt a vibration underneath her fingertips; Zuko was growling. She removed her hand, allowing him to speak.

"Bedtime story first. If you're not—hopefully, but doubtful—asleep, I'll tell you. That sound fair, Badger?"

Toph snorted and smiled, then moved closer to Zuko. "More than."

Zuko sighed and prayed to the spirits that by some miracle the small earthbender would fall into a deep sleep, but his hopes weren't high.

"There was once a young firebender who died from a fire by his own flame. He became a lost soul—"

Suddenly a rumbling snore came from beside Zuko, and he looked to see Toph fast asleep beside him, leaning on his shoulder.

"Very funny," Zuko said, nudging the shoulder Toph was leaning on. She dramatically jerked upright, rubbing her fists into her eyes with a yawn.

"Oh, did I fall asleep? Sorry Sparks, you must have bored me there."

Zuko shook his head and continued reading, not even trying to hide the smirk on his face.

"He became a lost soul amongst an earthly realm, searching for a friendly being who was aware of his presence. He could no longer bend or communite with those on the other realm, but was left to watch the lives of those still living. There was one who could see the firebender; the blind bender."

Zuko flipped the page, stealing a glance at Toph to find her listening intently for a change. Either she was emmersed in the story or was patiently waiting to hear his own.

_Toph? Patient? Right._

"While she couldn't see those alive around her, the blind bender was aware of the firebender's presence. With no company from those around her, the blind bender quickly befriended the firebender and—"

"You're really good at making up stories, Princess. Maybe you can tell a _true_ story now?" Toph asked, obviously annoyed.

Zuko sighed, aware that expected Toph to be patient was like expected Mai to hand out hugs—it just wasn't going to happen.

"Fine. When I found Katara, she was russeling through her stuff. We found the necklace, but Azula found _us_ before we could leave. We combined out bending and the room steamed up—"

"Steambending? That's new. Kinda adds to the metaphor that you two are—"

"The room steamed up and we ran to Aangs room and we jumped, following your backup plan—_don't_ say 'I told you so'—and followed the path to the balloon. After a while we found your message and followed you here. The end."

Toph snickered and cracked her knuckles, knowing Zuko was leaving out the best parts of the story.

"You wanna try that again, Sparks?"

Zuko rolled his eyes and mentally backtracked. "While we were in the cave, we both apologized for everything—"

"Sweetness _apologized?_"

"—And we kissed. That's it Toph. Now maybe you can explain what happened between you and Aang?"

Toph rolled her eyes and yawned, suddenly tired.

"I'm exhausted Sparky. Night!" she said, pulling a blanket from her bag and curling into a ball. Zuko shook his head and returned the book to his own bag near the door, glancing towards Toph before leaving the room.

"Where do you think you're going, Sparky! You owe me a story!"

He ignored her and continued towards the back patio, careful to close the door behind him.

The moon peaked from behind the thick clouds above, but speaks of light lite the night air as Katara leaned against the rocks that created a wall along the shore. The cold ocean water licked her toes, and although she was miles from home, Katara felt within her element. Literally, even.

The lights danced around her, a single flicker twirling around her and landing on her nose before flying off again, continuing in a never ending waltz. She turned to watch the flicker, but her eyes landed on someone else.

"They're called fireflies," Zuko said, reaching out as he caught one closest to him, cupping it in his hand. A faint glow surrounded his hands and flickered, the light most evident between his fingers. Zuko watched the light flicker and opened his hands, the firefly dancing around them before continuing its dance with his friends.

"They're gorgeous," Katara said, watching them.

"Yeah…" Zuko whispered, his eyes never leaving Katara. She felt his gaze on her as their eyes made contact, both quickly looking away simultanteously.

"Aang…" Katar started, unsure how to continue.

"Is confused," Zuko finished, standing beside her as he spoke. "He's fallen in love with Toph, but he's been in love with you for so long…"

Katara bit her lip, feeling guilty for Aang's pain.

"He'll get over it, Katara. And honestly, I can't blame him…"

Katara turned towards Zuko, surprised.

"What?"

"That he's still in love with you."

"Are you saying…?"

Zuko entertwined his fingers with Katara's, the fireflies around them reflecting of her eyes.

"I love with you Katara."

"They're here, father. When can we attack?"

"Patience, Azula. Any well thought attack is a planned attack. We'll have them soon enough."

"Yes father," Azula said, slightly annoyed. "But when?"

"Sunrise."

Aang expelled a long breath, releasing bad energy with it as the tapestries handing around the room shook softly from his bending. He ignored the sound of cloth against wood and continued his meditation, trying to reach his past Avatar's for advice.

"You don't belong here."

Aang opened his eyes and looked around, but he was no longer at the beach house. Cold clouds surrounded him as he sat in an empty room, the owner of the voice nowhere in sight.

"You missed your chance."

Her voice was filled with a venomous anger, and Aang stood up, searching.

"Who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

Aang almost laughed, but stifled it, knowing it wasn't the time or place.

"Leave. _Now_. This is my battle."

Now Aang was annoyed, his anger evident in his voice. "I left these people when they needed me most. I caused this, now I need to fix it. You're putting yourself in danger. Azula, the Fire Lord, they're searching or you."

"You're the danger, not me. And they'll never find me."

The smoke cleared as Aang returned to his own realm.

"But we will."


	24. Realizations

**Chapter 24: Realizations**

"Aang?" Toph called out, tracing her fingers across the wooden walls of the beach house as she walked from room to room. Toph actually missed the old air temple; the marble flooring was easy trace, and the earthbender could spend hours creating a mental map of the confusing pathways the old airbenders created years ago. But wood, wood she couldn't deal with.

Luckily a few grains of sand were spread across the wooden floor, probably brought in by the group after they traveled across the beach. While it wasn't much, it was enough for Toph to avoid knocking into walls, and she used the vibrations of the building to make her way towards Aang's room.

"Twinkletoes! If you make me cling to this stupid wood any longer I swear—"

Toph reached her hand out, feeling nothing but air as she realized she'd reached a threshold. Continuing through it she followed faint vibrations towads the center of the room, nearly tripping over Aang before she realized he was sitting.

"Aang?" she said, knelling onto the floor and reaching towards the airbender. Her fingers traced over cold skin, and she traveled upward until her fingertips brushed against Aang's eyes, which she realized were closed.

Toph scuffed, assuming Aang was conversing with his past lives, and continued her inspection. Though she never cared about apperances—being blind, it never really mattered—Toph was also curious, especially when it came to her friends. The earthbender used her fingertips to trace across Aang's skin, tapping her fingers now and then to sense for vibrations.

Suddenly Toph felt Aang's skin tense, and she quickly pulled her hand away, embarrassed.

"Um…" Aang mumbled, holding back a laugh.

"Just making sure you weren't dead," Toph mumbled, feeling the heat of a blush across her cheek. She looked away in an attempt to hide her face, when suddenly she felt fingers flutter against her own cheek, pulling her face the other way.

"Don't," Aang whispered, circling his fingers across her cheek as he cupped her face in his palm.

For a split second Toph relaxed, forgetting about the plans, Azula, and the unknown Avatar.

A split second was all it took for her to remember.

Toph quickly slapped Aang's hand away and pushed herself back, mentally yelling at herself for her stupidity.

"Toph…" Aang sighed, knowing that while he needed to give the earthbender her space, he also needed to explain himself.

"Save it, Twinkletoes," she said, getting up to leave. Aang grabbed her wrist to stop her, standing up to speak.

"I love _you,_" he said, his warm fingers wrapped around her small wrist. "Not Katara. _You."_

Toph said nothing, surprised by Aang's words. Aang pulled her towards him, but Toph pulled her arm away, angry.

"I know you're blind, but why can't you _see_ that?" Aang asked.

"Because I feel your hesitation when you say it! There's a hitch in your voice, as if you don't believe your own words, Twinkletoes. So why should I believe them?" Toph's pale cheeks were red with anger as she spoke, turning her back towards Aang and annoyed she didn't have any boulders to throw his way.

"I thought I loved Katara for a long time, Toph. You know that. But…Every time I see you, I feel more. And I _know_ you can feel my heart nearly beat out of my chest. I know you can feel how I feel. I'm not the one who's confused here," he said, walking around Toph to face her.

"You are."

Katara untwined her fingers from Zuko's, taking a step back as she faced the moon's reflection within the calm waves of the ocean.

"Now would probably be the time to say something," Zuko said, worried that Katara didn't feel the same way he did. He had just professed his love for her, and she just stood silent.

"I'm sorry Zuko. I—" Katara started, mentally praying to Yue for guidance. "I can't handle this right now." The waterbender brushed the back of her palm across her cheek as she left, realizing she was repeating the same actions she had once before with Aang.

"Wha—" Zuko said, surprised as he watched Katara run back towards the beach house. He cursed under his breath, not only as he realized he ruined everything, but because of the biggest consequence of his actions: he'd have to tell Toph.

And that was never good.

"I am _not_—" Toph started, completely annoyed.

"You are though, Toph. You only let people get so close, and then you start to push away. And that's what you're doing now. You're letting your stubborn streak get in the way, and you're pushing me back. When _you_ started this in the first place."

Toph shook her head, frowning as she stormed towards Aang. Jabbing her finger at him, she spoke, "You can't tell me you don't feel anything for Katara, Aang. When I asked you if you still loved Sweetness, you said _nothing_. That tells me more than you would ever admit."

She turned to leave again, somehow surprised when Aang grabbed at her wrist. He pulled Toph towards him again, and this time she didn't resist.

"I didn't say anything because I was trying to tell you how I felt, Toph. I didn't want you to realize it before I could say it myself; before I was sure."

Aang traced his fingertips up and down Toph's bare arms as he spoke, finally stopping to rest them on her hips.

"I love you, Toph."

Toph bit her lip, unsure of herself, opening her mouth to speak before she was interrupted.

"Toph! Aang! Meeting, _now!_"

Zuko walked back into the beach house, surprised to find everyone crowded around the small living room again.

"Meeting," Toph mumbled, as Zuko took a seat beside her.

As the one who called the meeting, Iroh cleared his throat and nodded towards Mai, who stood to speak.

"Azula may be closer than we think," Mai sighed, avoiding eye contact with any of the people around her. She was aware that she had more enemies than allies in the room.

"What?" Sokka said, jumping up in surprise. "What do you mean? Did you lead her here?"

"No!" Ty Lee said, standing up beside Mai to support her friend. "Of course not!"

"When Azula uses her warship, she usually has to stop midway between the palace and her destination, to her annoyence, to let the benders who fuel the ship rest. The stop from the air temple to the palace is—"

"Here."

"How long do we have until she gets here?"

"How long will she stay?"

"What do we do?"

Everyone started asking questions at once, only two members of the team staying silent. Aang stood up to speak just as Iroh did the same. The latter of the two caught the attention of the room by clearing his throat.

"My dear Katara, do you think I could have another cup of this Jasmine tea?" Iroh said, handing Katara his cup as his eyes traced over the other occupants of the room.

"There's no reason to panic," Iroh said simply, folding his hands under his robes as he sat back down. Everyone stared at the old man with shock on their faces, but no one spoke as they waited for him to explain.

"You think I would bring you here without a plan B? That wouldn't be very wise, now would it?" Iroh said, a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his face as he accepted a cup of steaming tea from Katara. "Thank you Miss Katara."

"Now that Steam has eased our panic, can we pack up and go now?" Toph said, annoyed by the sand…and the tension in the group.

Iroh laughed wholeheartedly at the nickname as he sipped his tea, keeping the cup warm with his bending.

"Wait!" Aang said, standing up before the room could empty. "I've got something important you all need to know."

The others turned owards Aang with worried glances as they once again took their seats.

"She contacted me," Aang said looking around the room. "The other Avatar."

"Can we give this poser a name?" Toph said, refusing to look Aang in the eye.

"When do you ever ask to give someone a nickname?" Zuko said, giving Toph a sideway glance and a smile.

Toph smiled back, but it wasn't her usually ear-to-ear smirk. "Mimic then."

"Fine," Aang said, expressing no emotion in his voice. "_Mimic_ contacted me. She basically warned me, that this wasn't my battle."

"Well you can't be surprised about that," Sokka said.

"No. But that's not the important part. I saw where she was."

Everyone looked around at each other, surprised.

"How soon can we get you two into that temple?" Aang asked, turning towards Katara and Suki.

"How soon can you get us there?" Suki asked, already shouldering her bag.

"But—" Sokka protested, but both girls shoved their hands over his mouth.

"This isn't up for debate, Sokka," Katara said, grabbing her own bag.

"Then let's go. _Now_," Aang said, walking towards the door.

Everyone followed towards Appa, who groaned in response to seeing the entire gang.

"We'll have to split up, again," Aang said, mentally counting heads.

"Wait!" Toph said, frowning. "We're not doing this your way."

"Sparky, Steam, and I can travel in the balloon. The rest of you on Appa. Argue with me and I'll leave you here," the young earthbender said, grabbing Zuko's shoulder for support as she climbed into the balloon.

No one argued with her and the two groups split up, Iroh and Aang the last to split up as Iroh told the Avatar where they were headed.

"Let's get out of here," Toph mumbled, as the two groups rose into the air.

Little did they know they were being watched.


End file.
